Should I be working at a soup kitchen instead of Twittering? Or should I be volunteering at a food pantry instead of posting videos on Seesmic? I had an interesting conversation with my parents during a recent visit with them. When trying to explain how my father, who is a pastor of a church, could expand his reach of his sermons by posting them on the internet, I started explaining to them the possibilities of social networking.

I explained Twitter, and Facebook, and Linkedin, and my new love Seesmic. I explained how I made contacts with people all over the world with like minded interests and ideas. How I reconnected with friends and classmates and how I got recruited for my new job through LinkedIn.

It was met with a simple, “I don’t have the time” from my father and a “I don’t want people to know more things about me” from my mother. That I could handle. After all, social networking is not for everyone. In fact, some of the most web savvy, socially advanced, and cool people I know haven’t found the desire to network online despite my constant campaigning.

But what really hurt was what my mom told me next. “why don’t you use all that extra time to volunteer at a soup kitchen instead of doing all of those things.”

Wow.

Now I have heard some real doozys from my parents before but this one hit hard. In one swift sentence I was criticized not only for what I do with my time but the value it has to society.

This brings me to my question. What the hell are we doing all of this for? I mean, sure there are some great ideas and use of technology. Sure, I have met some amazing people through my networks (some who I may one day meet in person and some that I may never) But for what? What are your thoughts on this question?

I frequently meet with design and advertising students to give them insight to what it means to design or art direct professionally. I tell them about my list of 10 things. I warn them about the long hours. And then I tell them something they haven’t heard before. I say something like this:

“One of the most important things to do is to get in the habit of consuming as much media as possible.”

I am a self-proclaimed media whore. I consume every type of media that I can get my eyes on. I read as many magazines and newspapers as possible. I watch TV (network and cable) until my eyes go numb. I listen to radio (both free and paid). I watch movies in the theatre, via Netflix, and in hotel rooms. I shop for CDs and DVDs. I play video games. And I surf the web for about 4 hours a day. And the best part is I do this all for my job. Read more…

The following is an excerpt from a post I made at iPhoneMatters.com. Read the full text after the jump.

The iPhone. We all love it and it hasn’t even been released yet. Doesn’t it seem like years ago when we were all obsessed over  whether Apple could even use the name, “iPhone”? Cisco and Apple have since reached an agreement over the name but one thing still bothers me. I am convinced Apple made a huge marketing and branding error in naming this new device the iPhone. I contend, rather, that the smart thing for Apple would have been to name it the iPod Mobile. Here’s why:

Go with the hot hand
The term “iPod” has commanding penetration in the popular culture and the lexicon of everything “hip” in this world. Sure, there are a few of anti-iPod flag wavers but in the end, you won’t lose points in popularity if you sport an iPod.

Apple garnishes so much attention with every new release of the iPod that the same hype and hysteria would have been generated had Steve Jobs announced the iPod Mobile in January.

More.