Jeff Cutler – columns, essays and opinions

I’m sitting in a coffee shop in a Boston suburb and at a nearby table there’s a reporter doing a story on a game popularized by Harry Potter.

That’s right, the Globe is paying a reporter to follow up on stuff like Quidditch at Tufts University.

Just saying that maybe some news like scooter laws, drunk driving conviction rates in Hingham, the dismal state of the Bruins or other more pressing story could be chased down like the snitch in Quidditch?

You tell me.

Keep reading!

Buzz This Post

Tags: boston globe, coffee, Harry Potter, Quidditch

My calendar looks like a Sharpie pen collection threw up on it. From personal appointments with friends, physicians and scooter mechanics to a variety of valuable networking and technology events, this week is jammed to the gills.

I know my friends Joselin Mane and Rachel Levy have put together a tracking service to alert people to social-media events, but I wanted to share my schedule and I invite you to share yours.

Mostly, this exercise is to see if I can connect with you as I bounce around Boston this week. What’s on your docket? Where will you be? Please share in the comments.

Here’s my plan….

Monday:
Call Belgium
Write articles for two clients
Edit some Web content
Work on additional blog posts
Start developing my 15 Sites in 15 Minutes presentation for the Salty Legs Career Club
Meet with Deval Patrick – governor of Massachusetts – and discuss some of the Commonwealth’s tech issues – including why the schools in the state are all banned from Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and other sites (while there are educational initiatives on the national level that ask Massachusetts and other states to incorporate social media tools in their curriculum)
Boston Skeptics in the Pub at Tommy Doyle’s in Harvard Square

Tuesday:
Social Media Breakfast – Live at Puma City
Tech Tuesday – Gadgets and Gathering
Meet with collaborators for #iroadtrip 2 planning (tentative meeting)
Man-on-the-street interviews in Boston

Wednesday:
Client meeting – via phone and in person from 9AM to 3PM
Extreme Website Makeover 6 to 8:30PM
Mediabistro Networking Event at 6B Lounge 6:30 to 8:30
WBUR Tweetup at the radio station 6:30 start
Red Sox Tweetup at Dillon’s on Boylston Street 6:30 to 11PM
***For these evening events, I’ll be shuttling to and fro via scooter. Probably going to MediaBistro, Extreme Website, WBUR and then Dillon’s – in that order – if you want to meet up.***

Thursday:
Social Media Summit – What’s the ROI of Social Media?
Client meetings
Random writing and reporting
and a Networking Event for which I’ve had to sign an NDA so I can’t reveal location or topic

Friday:
Salty Legs Career Club – Presenting 15 Sites in 15 Minutes: Where you need to go/What you need to know

How’s that for a three-hour tour?

Please share yours, and keep reading!

Buzz This Post

Tags: Boston, boston globe, Clients, content, mediabistro, networking, PUMA, red sox, social media, social media breakfast

In a couple pieces I read in today’s Boston Globe, writers talked about social media tools in the same way in which reporters – me included – pontificate about other subjects.

A recent feature I wrote for Gatehouse Media allowed me to instruct readers on how to shop for their next television set and what they should know about the pending digital conversion in mid February. But the only reason I could act as an expert was because I had done my homework. In at least one of the two articles I read today, the author didn’t seem to have spent a lot of time with the technology he was explaining.

Specifically, Facebook. The piece – Perspective – in the Boston Globe Magazine, was written by staff writer Neil Swidey. His contention, based on his own experience and an interview with a Stanford lab director who has a book on Facebook coming out, is that once you’ve made contact with someone on the site, you’re forever linked.

Swidey also says “Facebook can also hamper our ability to manages social contacts.”

My problem with the column is that it is as superficial as the media tool it purports to explain.

Facebook, IMO, is a place where you can (but don’t have to) connect with people. It’s a place where you can (but don’t have to) pay attention to other people who have sought your friendship via this new media tool. And Facebook is a place where you can (but don’t have to) spend/waste a lot of time.

I’ll even say that Facebook can be valuable in maintaining connections on a social and even a professional level. That’s where it stops. Facebook is only a tool. Just as Instant Messaging is as intrusive or benign as you want it to be, you need to maintain and take control for your actions and interactions with the people who are listed as your friends.

Why isn’t there such angst about a very similar social media tool – LinkedIn? It’s because there are societal and professional norms in place. People have taken responsibility to police the people with whom they connect. You can do the same thing on Facebook, but many people choose not to.

When trying to explain the two sites/tools to a business colleague the other day, I said, “LinkedIn is for the people with whom you want to have a professional relationship with. Facebook is for bar talk, sharing gossip, personal news and arranging parties.”

If you don’t like someone, block or unfriend them. Don’t feel, as Swidey says, “That’s not the way it works here.”

That’s EXACTLY how it works here. Take some responsibility for your own destiny and follow and interact with the people you choose. If you don’t have time for someone, don’t pay attention to them. The beauty of Facebook is that you can do that without blatantly hurting anyone’s feelings.

Finally, to the Stanford lab director’s contention (his name is B.J. Fogg) that “If I say yes to someone I haven’t talked to in 20 years, it dilutes my ability to create tighter relationships with those who really matter to me” I say you’re out of your tree. The two are mutually exclusive. If I say hi to someone on the street, it doesn’t preclude my ability to say hi to and even have a long conversation with the next person I see on the street.

I hope Fogg’s book has a bit more insight than Swidey was able to glean for his column.

And like Swidey, I don’t think that my opinions of Facebook – or of Swidey’s one column and Fogg’s misperceptions – should hinder my relationships with people I see as friends. If you’re on my list, you already know how I roll.

Keep reading!

Find me on Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, LinkedIn, Pownce, Utterli, Jaiku, Flickr, Qik and about 50 other social media sites as jeffcutler. Or just google my name. That would be the friendly thing to do.

Buzz This Post

Tags: B.J. Fogg, boston globe, Facebook, Jeff Cutler, Neil Swidey, reporting, social media, Stanford

When’s the last time you were thrilled with the performance of a Boston police officer? Was it when he or she waved you through a red light while working a construction detail? Or was it when you got directions from him? Or was it when he or she let you go after you got stopped for that crazy no-left-turn onto Comm. Ave. off of Mass Ave.?

Regardless, an article I read the other day brought up the painful subject of how cops sit around aimlessly at construction details and their only contribution is to add to the ire of drivers and pedestrians. The police on the detail do this by talking on the phone, pretending that they know something about sewer or telephone work by staring into whatever hole is being worked on, drinking Dunkin’s coffee, and ultimately ignoring their tasks at hand – which I’ve always thought was to ensure a smooth flow of traffic and people around said work site.

My angst at the thumb-twiddling cops at construction sites has been magnified since I’ve been riding a scooter. That’s because most cops behave just like the light-tripping mechanism at the stoplights around town and ignore any vehicle smaller than a Yugo. On four separate occasions I’ve had to wait an interminable amount of time just to be waved past a tiny hole in the ground.

Ironically, if I had broken the law and behaved as if my scooter were a bike (as some scooters are allowed to do based on engine size) I could have just buzzed past the roadway annoyance.

Add a feeling of being ripped off to my annoyance of being delayed at work sites and you might see how getting regular people to work these details would seem like a genius move. It makes perfect sense to allow cops to go do cop things instead of giving them eight-hour paid vacations standing around the streets of Boston. But not to the police unions.

In today’s (Sunday) Boston Globe, a story on the front page shouted that unions rush to protect details!

There is actually an October deadline for a cop an state agreement about details. If the Governor gets his way (and likely the preferred way for most citizens who are tired of seeing cops munching on snacks and drinking coffee while talking on the phone), then ‘flaggers’ will be allowed to work sites that previously were staffed by cops.

According to the Globe story, the rules that Deval Patrick is trying to introduce will follow a level of dangerousness and allow work sites that are less dangerous to be manned by these citizen flaggers.

The real wrinkle appears – also according to the Globe – when local cities and towns are brought into the mix. If a town decides that all details in its borders require cops on details, then their decision will overrule the state’s decision.

Right now, unions and anyone who sells donuts to cops is rushing around to make sure that our men and women in blue are allowed to keep their cushy positions wandering the side of the road, ignoring the flow of traffic and collecting hefty paychecks.

A public hearing will occur Monday at 5PM at the Massachusetts State Transportation building.

I urge anyone who cares about taxes, pork and lazy cops to be present. I plan to ride my scooter into the city to see what happens. I hope there aren’t too many construction sites in that area or else nobody will make it to that meeting on time.

Maybe we’ll even get people with video cameras to attend the hearing and live blog it for those who can’t make it into town at 5PM on a work day. I’m betting that lots of cops will be present.

Got comments? Please leave them here for all to see. Maybe a cop on his iPhone will click over here and read what people are saying.

Keep reading!

Buzz This Post

Tags: Boston, boston globe, Column, construction, cops, details, deval patrick, graft, inept, opinion, waste

SIx months into the Sabbatical (it’s really about five, but who’s counting) and I’m just finding out what it means to be adrift in the world of journalists, columnists and writers.

Truthfully, I’ve been writing as a journalist for about 20 years but this is my first ‘no-net’ performance on the journalism stage.

It’s difficult at times, but exhilarating. And I’ve been learning so much about my motivation and skill level.

The plan is for me to keep flinging spaghetti strands of work against the wall until something sticks. And the ultimate goal – as stated before – is to find work and a career as a columnist.

If you’re in the industry, the role of columnist isn’t that much different from that of a feature writer…you just make a little more money and have some more leeway in your topic choices.

Today I’m doing the brainstorm thing and picking new topics on which to write. I’ll post new columns almost daily – if I can – to showcase my skills.

This should work pretty well later in the week when Randy Cohen has me as a guest reader on The Ethicist radio program.

Keep watching here for new stuff. I’m done writing this recap and headed over to my desk to pound out some stuff that makes both of us think.

Keep reading!

Buzz This Post

Tags: boston globe, brainstorm, daily, dirtrag magazine, scoot magazine, tdf08.com, Yankee Magazine

Not exactly go-off-the-deep-end type of insanity, but it’s been mega busy around here.

Finally have wrapped up a bunch of projects (some work for the Boston Globe, the auction booklet for Grampy’s, started recording my questions for Randy Cohen, *this is a past link, I’ll link to my readings when they appear* and am working on the movie for the golf tournament), and still have a lot to do.

But I’m getting there and I’m finding that the more projects I have rolling along, the better my writing gets. I keep things sparse and to the point.

For example, read my last few posts at the Tour de France site. They are crisper and more fun than the blather I was tossing online in stages 2-5.

In a few minutes I’m going to take you on a little journey from brown truck to open box. Hold tight.

Oh, and then I’ll describe for you the Grampy’s event and give you more info on the stuff I’m doing for The Ethicist.

FUN FUN FUN!

Keep reading!

Buzz This Post

Tags: auction, boston globe, charity, golf, grampys, project, radio, Randy Cohen, The Ethicist, tour de france, writing

Occasionally there are other writers who spur us to explore different topics and open discussions on existing matters that cause ire and angst. One such writer is Bella English, and her recent column in the Boston Globe and on Boston.com got me ranting about cyclist rights and the arrogance of drivers in the metro-Boston area.

Coincidentally, this week saw the start of the 2008 Tour de France (see my blog on that race) and many cyclists are fired up and enthusiastic about getting back on skinny tires and attacking the road. But back to Bella.

In her column, she spoke of instances where she’s borne the brunt of ignorant and angry drivers’ actions. She contended (poorly) that the people she rides with obey the rules of the road and only want respect from drivers. Unfortunately, Ms. English didn’t make her points clear enough and nearly 250 people have been flaming the message boards at Boston.com with arguments they think are counter hers.

Where do I stand? Neatly on the side away from the idiots…and there are idiots on both sides of the issue.

As a cyclist, a former mountain bike racer, an experienced bike mechanic (Pan Mass Challenge, Harpoon Brewery to Brewery Tour and American Lung Association Lung Trek), and a participant in multiple charity rides, I think cyclists can be stupid. They’re riding a 24-lb piece of metal that will crumple like tissue paper in a hurricane if struck by an SUV or even a Smart Car. And they’re riding this metal contraption as if it’s the only thing on the road.

Further, these idiot riders don’t obey many of the rules of the road. Sometimes it’s because the rules aren’t practical (have you ever sat through three light cycles because your aluminum road bike wasn’t heavy enough or magnetic enough to trip the automatic light switch?) or because of ’safety’ concerns.

Just talk to the rider who lane splits his way to the front of traffic so he can better see the road ahead. What he doesn’t realize is that 14 drivers are now pissed at him because he’s blocking the road and he’s ahead of them. If he were following the rules, he’d be taking a proper spot in a lane and moving with traffic until the pace became too fast and he had to move to the side.

Hang on, this isn’t a bike bash-fest. I think drivers are worse.

Insulated as they are in their cars, they don’t pay enough attention to the road, to the other cars, to pedestrians, to bikes or to traffic laws. Since cars are one of the ultimate symbols of personal freedom, many people take offense when someone hinders that ‘right’.

Hello ignorance. Cycling, piloting a car, walking and even driving a scooter require that you follow the rules of the road. Don’t be an idiot and cross against the green. Don’t take a right on red if there’s a sign saying no to. Don’t blast through stop signs just because you’re on a bike. And don’t park on the sidewalk if your scooter is larger than a bike.

Ms. English had some valid points about tolerance from all angles but she seemed to be leaning more to the cyclist’s side. For those of us who ride bikes, drive cars and speed around on scooters, I wish we all were held to the same standards.

Bicyclists should be ticketed when they fail to yield or stop, when they’re obstructing traffic, or when they’re going the wrong way.

Cars should be towed immediately when they’re double parked. Drivers should be arrested for not following traffic laws. And licenses should be revoked much more quickly than is currently the case.

I’ve personally initiated legislation to get all motorists tested every two years so that poor drivers or those who don’t know the laws will be weeded out of the system. I’m all for licensing cyclists and all vehicles on the road – even smaller-engined vehicles that currently are treated like bikes.

And it would be great if the cost of having a license were commensurate with the responsibility and freedom it connotes. In Europe it costs about $3000 to get your license. Why is it any different here?

I find that European drivers are more skilled and don’t take their privilege for granted. Wouldn’t it be great if the same situation existed here?

I thought so. I’m glad Ms. English got on her soap box so I could get on mine.

Keep reading!

Buzz This Post

Tags: anger, antagonistic, Bella English, bikes, boston globe, cars, columnist, commentary, cyclist, laws, license, opinion, rights, roads, soap box

Getting behind the bars
by Jeff Cutler

According to the lighthearted nature of recent articles online and in both regional and national newspapers, riding a scooter is the best way to fight gas prices and stick it to the parking authorities while navigating urban and suburban streets.

Just tonight the mainstream broadcast media hit us with another story hammering home how much fun and utility these little vehicles have. The story ran during the 7PM news July 6, 2008 on MSNBC. See more here – Video of Scootering.

Nothing could be farther from the truth.

In fact, the characteristics that make a scooter easy to purchase, own and operate are the same ones that can end your life in an instant if you’re not careful.

For starters, a scooter is just a scaled-down motorcycle. Quiz people at the office and the same ones that gush with enthusiasm over hopping on a Vespa will start spewing dark and dreary comments about how motorcycles are contraptions of the devil and how they’d never hop on one of those death machines.

Consumers are also clamoring to scooters because they think they’ll be able to pay for them in gas savings alone. Take a look at this from justgottascoot.com – JUST GOTTA SCOOT FUEL CALCULATOR – and then continue reading. You’ll see that paying for your scoot with only the savings from gasoline isn’t an ideal reason to buy one.

Scooters and motorcycles are more alike than you might believe and they are piloted using identical skills. Even state governments understand how similar scooters are to motorcycles and the majority of them require you to possess a motorcycle license to operate a scooter.

With this in mind, I decided to prepare myself for the road with proper motorcycle training as recommended by the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles. These ARE the same geniuses that had me get a notarized letter proving that my middle name was Jeff. And they’re also the same brilliant crew that missed out on the common sense rations.

As an aside to prove my point. I am five feet, ten inches tall. When I went for my replacement license a few years ago, the person at the registry asked me my height. I clearly responded, “I’ve always wanted to be six feet tall, so how about six feet?”

They put six-feet as my height on my license. It might be a situation where the clerk was just humoring me and decided to believe me, but I doubt it. Mostly because the guy in front of me in line said he was five feet, eleven inches tall, and he could have eaten peanuts off my head.

Geniuses.

Aside from their occasional misstep, the Registry has done a good thing in recognizing that motorcycle operation is more difficult than driving a car. And the MSF (Motorcycle Safety Foundation) course drilled into us over the course of two days that it’s the rider’s responsibility to keep himself safe and in control.

In a car – or a ‘cage’ as bikers and scooterist call them, you can talk on the phone while eating a cheeseburger and taking notes in your Wifi-enabled laptop, all while driving. As long as you’re wearing a seatbelt and have some airbags, you’ll likely be fine when you smash into something or some other distracted driver smashes into you.

On a bike – scooter or motorcycle – that’s not the case. While the idiot behind the wheel of the Escalade is cleaning ketchup off her pink Razr, the EMTs could be peeling your off the guardrail that she forced you into.

She’ll be uttering the common phrase, “I didn’t see him,” as you’re checking to see if you’ve broken anything and looking at your mangled bike.

But while this scenario is relatively common, the most common reason for rider injury or death is their own error while driving. Some of the more sobering comments given by the MSF instructor had to do with how frequently inattention and poor skills end the lives of new riders.

So, as the news media jumps up and down and pumps up stories having to do with scooters – mostly because the prices at the pumps are also jumping up, up, up…take note that the experts urge you to be wary.

Let people know that scooters require some skill, they’re not toys, and falling off a scooter at 30, 40 or 50 miles an hour is probably going to hurt as much as jumping out of your car at the same speeds. Just because it’s cute doesn’t mean it’s harmless.

Ultimately, riding a scoot responsibly is great fun and can offer a great alternative to commuting and getting around in ‘cages’. But you’re going to be happier and last longer on the road if you gear up, be wary, and ride safe. Saving a few bucks at the pump is a great deal, but it’s only worth it if you’re around for a good long time to enjoy the savings.

Keep reading!

Buzz This Post

Tags: barry, boston globe, columnist, Genuine scooter company, Jeff Cutler, justgottascoot.com, MSF course, MSNBC, scooters, sedaris

I hesitate to use the word tornado because of the recent storms that have ripped through the center of our country, and the topic of things of done today pales in comparison to natural disasters. But, I have been productive and here’s a quick recap…

Here’s what I’ve done so far…

Wrote and submitted a column for SavvyAuntie.com.

Wrote a note to Dave Barry and already received a response. I’m planning to ask a few questions about column writing and the path to prominence. So far everything I’ve heard back from the Barry camp has been positive.

In the same vein, I wrote a note to Dan Shaughnessy and Brian McGrory at the Boston Globe. My hope is that they will speak with me briefly about breaking into the ranks of respected and published Globe columnists.

Brainstormed a new story idea for submission to a daily paper.

Got a note from an editor regarding some of my queries.

Ate a jello parfait.

Apart from the demolition of the parfait, my day has been quite productive so far. I hope it continues.

Keep reading!

Buzz This Post

Tags: boston globe, brainstorm, Brian McGrory, columnist, commentary, dave barry, jello, newspaper, queries, Savvy Auntie, Shaughnessy

I think the term name-dropper is negative and I’m hereby changing it to a positive act.

Of course this is self-serving because I want to drop a few names of the people I attended sessions with today at the Berkman@10 event at Harvard Law School.

These folks include David Dahl, Regional Editor at The Boston Globe and Dan Farber, Editor in Chief at CNET News.

From Mr. Dahl, I learned that Globe South is within his purview as editor. This pleases me because I live smack dab in the Globe South geographic area and have been writing for local papers on the South Shore for nearly 20 years. I’m hoping Mr. Dahl and I can speak again soon about features, articles, columns or fill-in stringing for the paper.

From Mr. Farber, I learned indirectly that my elevator pitch is fine-tuned when it comes to my new-media activities like podcasting, blogging and networking. I also learned that my freelance writing pitch is woefully inadequate and is something I should work on.

If given a second shot with Mr. Farber, I’d ask him to look at this column and this article for Apple Gazette. I wrote both of them this week and they show that I can deliver complete projects accurately and on time.

I would also point him to any of the columns that I’ve posted this week on my main blog – Bowl of Cheese – where I’ve been trying to be a lot more regular about my writing.

This has been important in the past, but even more important this week as I recently had John C. Dvorak (noted tech columnist for Market Watch and PC Week) put a link to my blog up on his blog. This drove an inordinate amount of traffic my way and I realized that I didn’t want people to just touch down on Bowl of Cheese and dash away.

So my content has been a lot more rich, thoughtful and regular this week.

To that end, I hope Mr. Farber takes the opportunity to contact me about possible projects with his organization while I continue my writing sabbatical and explore various avenues for my work.

Keep reading…and pick up names, don’t drop them.

Buzz This Post

Tags: articles, boston globe, CNET, columns, Dan Farber, David Dahl, freelance, Globe South, stringer