Why Does Klout Think I’m Influential About Broccoli?

Do you love broccoli? I guess I do.

According to Klout -- a new website that purportedly measures a person’s online influence, via social networks such as Twitter and Facebook -- I am influential about broccoli.

Yes -- broccoli, that green, flower-headed vegetable we all know and love.

I had been tweeting back and forth with my awesome friend Lee Anne about her own bemused discovery of being influential on the subject. Associating with her appears to have rubbed off on me: now, I too have been deemed a broccoli influencer!

Yours truly, Broccoli Person of Influence - per Klout

Researcher dana boyd writes in Guilt Through Algorithmic Association how Google’s autocomplete sometimes affiliates innocent people with unrelated events or concepts.

This feels like a similar scenario.

Romanesco broccoli often
exhibits fractal properties

Because truthfully, I don’t know much about broccoli. And neither does my friend -- at least not more than any normal person.

Yet that’s what the algorithm declares, merely because we’ve happened to mention broccoli a few times in online conversation.

Based on these early results, the Klout mechanism for evaluating a person’s topical influence is obviously still in its developmental infancy -- I’m sure improvements are rapidly on the way.

The determinative algorithm isn't published anywhere, but it gives the impression of being heavily weighted towards simple keyword recurrence, for the moment.

Embracing the Mantle of Broccoli Authority
In her post, boyd asks the questions:

1. What are the consequences of guilt through algorithmic association?
2. What are the correction mechanisms?
3. Who is accountable?
4. What can or should be done?

Like boyd, I’m not sure I know what the answers are.

There shouldn’t be any serious negative effects from having my online identity humorously associated with a vegetable. But who knows -- what if my boss hates broccoli? What if broccoli falls out of culinary fashion, and develops a gastronomic stigma? Could this adversely impact my career?

In Treehouse of Horror XI
Homer Simpson is killed
by eating broccoli

With respect to correction mechanisms, I’m an optimist -- or a pessimist, depending on your attitude towards intelligent systems and their societal influence -- so I’m confident competition will drive improved results over time. The algorithms are bound to get better.

Information services must nevertheless take responsibility for when their results prove erroneous (Klout, for the record, does allow users to manually remove topics that don’t make sense).

With respect to the last question, what can be done -- the most amusing course of action seems clear: Let’s reinforce the results with positive feedback, and deliberately cement my burgeoning reputation for online broccoli thought-leadership.

And that’s why I’ve larded up this entry with tangential broccoli references, facts and information (If you sign up for a Klout account, please +K me on the subject! Peer votes affect the results).

Want to know about broccoli? I’m your guy, and this is the canonical post you want to read. 

Well, maybe not...

Additional broccoli facts compiled for no purpose other than to extend the author’s apparent but slightly misleading credibility with respect to Brassica oleracea
If you’re an actual broccoli expert, and are miffed by my transient appearance on the scene -- I’m sorry. I’m sure my era of broccolic tyranny will prove fleeting, once Klout improves their topic appraisal methodology (or reads this post).

In the meantime, here’s What You Might Not Know About You Know What...

Albert Broccoli was the producer (along with Harry Saltzman) of the James Bond films, overseeing their progression from low budget affairs to today’s lavish spectacles.

Dana Carvey’s SNL audition piece was called ‘Chopping Broccoli’:



Broccoli comes from the Italian plural of broccolo, “flowering top of a cabbage.” A part of the cabbage family, it was first introduced to the United States by Italian immigrants, but was not popular in North America until the 1920s. China, India, and the U.S. are the primary exporters, accounting for nearly three-quarters of world broccoli production. It is a cool-weather crop that fares poorly during hot summer weather.

Broccoli and Melted Cheddar = AWESOME

Yummm....

Broccoli is rich in vitamin C -- a cup of broccoli has more of it than an orange -- dietary fibre, calcium, folic acid, lutein and other carotenoids, and it also contains nutrients with reputed anti-cancer properties.

Don’t boil it -- this destroys many of the nutrients!

Lastly, I once tried to convince a close friend of mine to name her first child ‘Broccoli’. My helpful suggestion was ignored in favour of the more prosaic Rosaline.

Broccoli House by Brock Davis

Garbage In, Garbage Out
The other topics that Klout alleges I’m influential about are also instructive: oasis and gym. I have no expertise in either of these terms (at least what most people would think of when they read those words). I did however, once muse about the destruction of a climbing gym called Rock Oasis.

The semantic abstraction hasn’t been made -- the claimed scope of influence is far broader than the reality. You might claim I’m mildly knowledgeable about ‘a climbing gym named Rock Oasis’ -- but the algorithm isn’t sophisticated enough to understand this. One day, though, it will be! That’s an exciting -- and scary -- prospect.

So to those readers who came across this blog looking for information about Oasis (the rock band) -- or broccoli recipes -- my sardonic apologies. Don’t blame me, it’s the algorithm that brought you here.



Algorithmically-driven services have notably gone awry many times. In the 2002 Wall Street Journal article If TiVo Thinks You Are Gay, Jeffrey Zaslow reported at length on how personalization technologies can output false associations or recommendations, based on misinterpreted data or input (full text of that article here).

Other examples of the perils of algorithmic association:

• The recommendation engines for Amazon and Netflix have grappled over their entire existence with the challenge of improving relevancy for suggested transactions based on past purchases
• Google-bombing is an example of people deliberately feeding in misleading information to drive artificial results from an algorithm, for comedic or satirical effect (e.g. ‘George Bush’ being linked to the search term ‘miserable failure’)
• LinkedIn and Facebook use social ads -- based on profile information -- to imply associations and to drive revenue from advertisements based on those links.

Steamed broccoli is an excellent
source of retained nutrition
CC Photo: Quadell

We live in a world where massively large data sets of digitised profile, transaction, behaviour, and historical information are being compiled.

These data sets are being coupled with increasingly complex, sophisticated, automated systems that attempt to predict or recommend future actions or preferences. The results of this combination can have an unintended impact on our online identity.

Judging by my alleged influence about broccoli -- apparently we still have a lot of progress to make.

What about you?
Are you influential about a random topic? Share your story in the comments and describe how you think it occurred.


Related reading:
Eli Pariser’s Filter Bubble Problem
How to Opt-out from LinkedIn Social Ads
Broccoli recipes (allrecipes.com)
What your Klout Score Really Means (Wired)

FEMA’s ‘Waffle House Index’ for disaster assessment

Waffle House Emergency Mobile Center
in NC following Hurricane Irene

I’ve previously written at length about the pervasive cultural role of Waffle House in the American South, and my own conflicted enchantment with that mighty purveyor of hash browns.

It turns out that I’m not the only one who thinks Waffle House represents a lot more than cheap hot food, at any hour.

W. Craig Fugate, the head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, uses a ‘Waffle House Index’ as an informal tool for assessing the status and severity of natural disasters, according to Valerie Bauerlein of the Wall Street Journal.

“If you get there and the Waffle House is closed? That's really bad. That's where you go to work.” - FEMA Director Craig Fugate. 

Fugate explains the Index in this video:



If a Waffle House store is open and offering a full menu, the index is green. If it is open but serving from a special limited menu, it’s yellow. When the location has been forced to close, the index is red.

While this seems simplistic, closer examination reveals that observers can rapidly infer facts about the larger community, based on the extent of operations and service at the local Waffle House franchise.

If a Waffle House restaurant is open, it means they have power and water. By implication the same is likely true for the surrounding neighbourhood, and emergency responders can adjust their actions accordingly.

Waffle House Limited menu,
used during disasters

If the Waffle House can only serve from their limited menu, it means that their freezer went out -- that indicates power has been out long enough to disrupt the freezer and spoil any refrigerated foods. Yet power is now available, possibly from a generator. This suggests that the local area may have issues with the food supply.

And if the restaurant is closed -- that’s a telling clue to the severity of the situation. Food and water are critical for afflicted citizens, as well as emergency responders. If the restaurant is unable to provide the basics to stay open, this implies significant disruption -- to employees, to food supplies, to power and water distribution capabilities.

A reputation for disaster preparedness

Waffle House has developed a reputation in Southern communities for staying open through thick and thin. The chain completely revamped its crisis management processes and planning following Hurricane Katrina in 2005, when seven of its restaurants were destroyed, and about 100 were temporarily shut down. The chain discovered that the franchises which re-opened quickly were mobbed by customers. 

Panos Kouvelis, Professor of Operations and Manufacturing Management at Olin Business School, Washington University in St. Louis, has published research that identified Waffle House as one of four organizations worth studying for their supply chain resiliency and effective response times (Lowe’s, Home Depot, and Wal-Mart were the other three).

Kouvelis comments that geography and weather have prompted the chain to treat disaster recovery as a priority rather than an afterthought.

“These companies have many stores in the southern part of the United States that are frequently exposed to hurricanes. They have good risk management plans in place and are great examples of how their supply chains get affected in two different ways. On the one hand, your own supply chain is exposed. At the same time, your stores are supposed to be the first to react and provide the basic supplies. Your supply goes down, while your demand goes up.”

Waffle House stands at the end point of a complex and extended supply chain. Maintaining ongoing operations involves the logistical coordination of suppliers, distributors, other vendors, and employees. By taking a systematic and methodical approach to mitigating vulnerabilities -- even developing a ‘hurricane playbook’ to coach operators through recovery steps for getting a restaurant going in the face of upheaval -- the chain has turned their investment into a robust competitive advantage.

In Joplin Missouri, a devastating EF5 class multiple-vortex tornado struck in 2011 and flattened significant portions of the city. Nevertheless, the two Waffle House restaurants in Joplin remained open, providing comfort and assistance to citizens in the aftermath. In this case you might argue that the Waffle House Index was misleading!

“Nothing good can come from a closed Waffle House after a hurricane—not for us, not for the community, not for the associates.” - former Waffle House Restaurants CEO, Bert Thornton

Although sales volumes can easily double or triple after a disaster, the chain claims its strategy is about fostering goodwill rather than profits.

I hope this post has given you some food for thought!


Further reading
Waffle House’s crisis management processes are outlined in this case study by Özlem Ergun, Jessica L. Heier Stamm, Pinar Keskinocak, and Julie L. Swann of Georgia Tech.

See also: the Colbert Report on the Waffle House Index

More from me on Waffle House
Why I love Waffle House -- a personal reflection
Waffle House tattoo -- now that’s commitment!

More 2011 Toronto Board Meeting Coverage

Herewith a collection of photo-sets, videos, and other media coverage from the 2011 Toronto Board Meeting... They’ve been trickling in as people have gotten around to processing their shots and footage.

Jensen’s footage:

ToSeeThingsDifferent’s edit:


I enjoy seeing the 'mass' shots...

The Grid (formerly Eye Weekly) had a pretty positive slant on the event...

... while the Torontoist’s sarcastic tone was lost on many readers (read the comments).

Jonathan Nuss is one of the old skool skater/photographers who has captured shots of the Board Meeting from the beginning. His set (click to view):

The intersection at St. Clair and Yonge gets taken over

Meanwhile Michael Palma of I & Eye Photography took a ton of great portraits:

Smooth Chicken’s contagious enthusiasm

And Longboardism.com had a sweet set:

Skate Invaders!!

x270filmsx’s summary...


And a cool aerial view from the ‘this is what you do when you go to university honey’ lady -- she happened to be in the right place at the right time, I guess:



More photos and videos in the OLF thread...

How to opt-out from LinkedIn Social Ads

LinkedIn social ads:
Opt-out by default

Are you the unsuspecting star of a LinkedIn social ad? Probably.

Casual users of the professional networking service may have missed the recent, low-key launch of this program, which automatically casts members as participants -- without asking.

LinkedIn has made the ‘feature’ opt-out by default, instead of opt-in. Which is their right, I suppose.

In a somewhat defensive post on their blog, they observe:

The only information that is used in social ads is information that is already publicly available and viewable by anyone in your network.

Sure. But this isn’t a very polite way to act.


Opting out of LinkedIn’s Social Ads with a single click -- or five 
The LinkedIn blog claims disingenuously that:

“Most importantly, we made it easy for our members to opt-out of inclusion from all social ads with one click.” (Emphasis theirs, not mine).

An experiment: Without looking at the steps below, how many clicks does it take you to find this dialog, and then opt-out from LinkedIn social advertising? 

Use the following sequence to opt-out of LinkedIn social ads, and decide for yourself how many clicks are required:

1. Hover over the drop-down menu by your name in the top right corner of any LinkedIn screen when you’re logged in. Choose Settings. (Click #1)
2. View your Account settings by selecting the Account tab (Click #2)
3. Choose Manage Social Advertising (Click #3)
4. Uncheck LinkedIn may use my name, photo in social advertising. (Click #4)
5. Click Save. (Click #5)

I must not be as sophisticated with user interface design as the developers at LinkedIn. Technically, I guess their statement was accurate. But it sure feels like more than one click to me...

If it seems like I’m fixated on the number of clicks, well, it’s LinkedIn that has identified this as the ‘most important’ element -- rather than the fact I have to click at all.

I’ll keep this in mind the next time I get mugged, and the assailant punches me in the face five times -- “That’s ok, it was just one punch.”

Default opt-out is a violation of respect 
While it’s an understandable move to generate revenue, ‘automatic, by-default, opt-out participation’ is not a desirable policy from an optics perspective. Like any other social network, LinkedIn depends on the trust of its members. The appearance of integrity is important.

This current approach is... distasteful. It’s not cool.

Default opt-out is a ploy that Facebook often uses. Cable and phone companies love negative option billing (a practice that is banned in Canada). So there’s plenty of precedent in industry for this behaviour. But is that the company LinkedIn wants to keep, reputationally?

Default opt-out erodes trust. It feels sneaky. It feels like a violation of respect and expectations.

Are people indifferent to this encroachment? I only learned about this myself the other weekend. Not much fuss has been made over this. Yet, if we aren’t vigilant about the information that ‘social’ companies maintain about us, and how they use and monetize that information, where exactly does that lead?

I understand that by participating in social media, we give up control over many aspects of how we are portrayed. We must acknowledge the muddy tension of conflicted agendas.

I’m on Facebook. I’m on LinkedIn. I’m on Twitter. I’m on Google+. And I write this blog. I’m consciously publishing all this information about myself in these and other public networks for the whole world to see -- so isn’t it hypocritical, even unreasonable of me to expect limits on the spread of that information?

More specifically, did I grant permission to let LinkedIn do what it wants with my info, when I signed up for the service? Absolutely, it’s right there in clause 2b of the User Agreement:

[...] you grant LinkedIn a nonexclusive, irrevocable, worldwide, perpetual, unlimited, assignable, sublicenseable, fully paid up and royalty-free right to us to copy, prepare derivative works of, improve, distribute, publish, remove, retain, add, process, analyze, use and commercialize, in any way now known or in the future discovered, any information you provide, directly or indirectly to LinkedIn, including, but not limited to, any user generated content, ideas, concepts, techniques or data to the services, you submit to LinkedIn, without any further consent, notice and/or compensation to you or to any third parties. 

It doesn’t take a legal translator to understand the broad, encompassing grasp of the policy...

Haydn Shaughnessey made a sharp observation in Forbes-- perhaps users wouldn’t object to participating in social advertisements, if a cut of the revenue was set aside for them. A fanciful notion, perhaps.

I don’t necessarily begrudge companies selling me as their product. But there’s a (perhaps naive) expectation that any service will at least do me the courtesy of asking my permission first.

Transparency of action is what will earn my trust. I want to control my online identity. As we’ve witnessed by the ‘real names vs. usernames’ controversy, people want to exert control over every facet of how they are represented in the virtual world. Exploiting their social capital -- by, let’s say, putting their names in an advertisement, thereby implying recommendation -- without explicit consent, is an affront.

Whose interests will ultimately prevail? History suggests our corporate overlords have the advantage. But it’s still a dialogue, still an evolving process at the moment. Withdrawal is not a palatable option. You can still exercise every control the networks concede, no matter how obscure or picayune -- or hard to find.

I urge you to do so.

Please share this post if you found it useful, informative, or interesting. (And if it suits your sense of humour, share it via LinkedIn...)

See Also
LinkedIn Passwords Breached

Aftermath - 2011 Toronto Board Meeting

Tons of stoke at the 2011 Toronto Board Meeting
L to R: P-Swiss, Joker, Smooth Chicken, Jacob Furlong
photo: Ponyta

That was fairly sensational.

A gorgeous day; no serious injuries; accommodating law enforcement; simply an epic gathering of skateboarders out for a gentle rumble through the sunny streets of Toronto. Who could ask for more?

The fantastic turnout took me by surprise. Approximately 900 skaters showed up. We counted! (a process that we’ll need to optimize, I suppose)

I was struck by how many familiar faces I knew. It gladdens my heart. Skateboarding is a bond that has lasted through the years, even as life rolls on.

Some coverage of the event...

Video from Concrete Wave Magazine:

The Toronto Star’s take: Army of Skateboarders takes over Downtown Streets

My favorite quote:

“We aren’t in a position to arrest hundreds of people.”  -- Staff Sgt. Andy Norrie, TPS

Kidding aside, thanks to 53 and 52 Division bike patrol for their escort, assistance, patience and understanding. Serve and protect!

(a minor quibble: the reporter incorrectly identifies Smooth Chicken as having ‘created’ the Board Meeting -- Mike has been a primary organizer since 2005, was one of the originals, and is a founder of OLF, and is generally undeniably an awesome fellow -- but it was the inimitable Jacob Furlong (aka Ben Jordan) who organized the first Board Meeting event in 2003.

I ran into Ben before the Meet and teased him about kicking the whole thing off. He shrugged and said, characteristically, “This is waaaay beyond me. I caused a little ripple and it somehow turned into a huge wave.” I thanked him nonetheless.)

Check out Longboardism’s sweet recap of the day.

A decent approximation of how many there were of us:


Skate[Slate] put up a summary [since deleted -N.] and some nice photos from Patrick Switzer... (thanks for the link btw!)

Thanks go to the organizers (happy birthday Joker), who did a superb job throughout of fuelling the stoke, and corralling what can best be described as a chaotic mob. Pulling this sort of thing off without any major crap going down is a tremendous accomplishment -- they should be commended.

Cristina (pictured right)
at a past Board Meeting --
We miss you!!

Thanks also go to the sponsors who provided tons of swag for the raffle. (Plank guy got seriously robbed for the sketchy deck prize though; just my opinion)

Last note: the moment of silence at City Hall for some of the skaters who are no longer with us was touching, and beautiful. We miss you Hilton. We miss you Cristina! We haven’t forgotten.

I’ll update this post in a few days with links to more videos and photos -- a ton of footage is getting processed...

MOAR FOOTIE

A bystander’s perspective (“This is what you do when you go to university honey.”):


Update: More collected footage and photos here.

2011 Toronto Board Meeting - Skateboarding!

2011 Board Meeting Schedule

Update (9/10/11) -- click here to read the summary of how awesome the Board Meeting turned out!

Original post follows...
--------

I’m getting a lot of hits from skaters looking for information about the 2011 Toronto Board Meeting, the annual skateboarding rumble through the streets of our fair city.

So here’s a quick recap about the event, what to wear, where we’re going, and how to find out more information (Perhaps next year, I’ll do an extended post about the history of the Board Meeting... Thanks Jacob Furlong!).

Details, details (via Joker)
“The Toronto 2011 Board Meeting is happening this Saturday September 10th at 4pm.

Attire: collared shirt (any colour -- white is usually popular) and tie.
Meeting location: David A. Balfour park. Go to St. Clair subway station and you will directed to the park.

WEAR A HELMET. Please wear a helmet. WEAR A HELMET!”

2011 Board Meeting route

More information about the Board Meeting can be found here (olf) or here (fb). The (currently planned) route is shown to the left. 

All skateboarders of any stripe are invited. This is going to be huge, fun, and crazy [but peaceful, note -- if you’re there to stir shit up, I strongly advise against it unless you feel like getting a beat down from a hundred annoyed skaters].

If you have safety gear you should wear it -- carnage happens every year. There’s nothing quite like getting taken out by some n00b on the first hill! Sigh.

Attendance is free. The rumour mill says a thousand skaters might show up on Saturday. I doubt it, but trust me if it happens, you’ll want to be there to witness the chaos firsthand. Show up!!

Free event t-shirts will be distributed until they run out, and there’s a huge raffle for awesome prizes and skate swag taking place -- tickets will be sold at the beginning and end of the ride (Revenues will go to support the ontariolongboarding scene, as well as a local charity).

The organizers have put a massive amount of effort into planning and preparation for this event. Please thank them for spreading the stoke in such a positive and fun way. Thanks also go to the sponsors for pitching in their support.

To onlookers and people in traffic Saturday: We come in peace. Mostly.

Good luck to everyone, skate safe, and enjoy the day! Godspeed.

Patrick Switzer wins a fourth World Cup race...

Pat Switzer in action
Photo: Alysha GMD Frizzell

A tiny update to my previous (and surprisingly widely circulated) post about the inimitable Pat --

He just won his fourth IGSA World Cup Series race in a row. This time on home soil at the Winsport Canada Cup in Calgary.

That’s not pretty good, or not bad, or fairly decent. That’s dominance. We are watching history being made...

I’m so happy for him. The fact that he’s such a classy, friendly guy makes it even better.

Congratulations Patrick!!

A Note from the Prime Minister on the Eve of War

Letter to Hugh C. MacLean from Robert L. Borden
F 4566-4-0-6 Hugh Cameron MacLean records
Ontario Archives. Click to expand.

Recently I happened to unearth a fascinating piece of minor Canadiana while visiting the Archives of Ontario -- a letter from Robert Borden, the eighth Prime Minister of Canada, to Hugh Cameron MacLean.

The letter seems quite innocuous, but takes on an intriguing flavour when you consider the historical context.

Hugh MacLean was a printer and publisher of considerable influence and connections. [His brother, John Bayne Maclean -- they spelled their last names differently -- was the eponymous rival force behind Maclean’s magazine and the Maclean-Hunter organization.]

Notice the date of the letter. It’s just a few days prior to Canada’s declaration of war against Germany. Late in July 1914, Borden had taken a vacation with his wife Laura, at the Royal Muskoka Hotel -- and, judging by this letter, had been a guest of MacLean’s, who ran a navigation company out of the Muskokas at the time.

The ‘unexpected return to Ottawa’ refers to Borden’s being summoned back to the capital to deal with the outbreak of hostilities in Europe. (MacLean’s pencilled note reads ‘Left Muskoka in haste, note date’) Borden had been scheduled to present the prizes at the Muskoka Lakes Association Regatta, and apparently tried to stay there as long as possible. Duty called, however.

Robert L. Borden
(Photo CC Wikipedia)

I find it captivating to imagine our Prime Minister, on the eve of the Great War, dictating this polite note to send his regrets over a missed golf invitation.

[Borden did nevertheless manage to spend a few days hitting the links, according to Canada, 1900-1945]

He could scarcely have imagined that Canada was about to embark upon a harrowing journey that would define us as a nation in so many ways -- from the horror of Ypres, to the bitter upset of conscription, to the glory at Vimy Ridge.

To me, this anodyne note represents Canada’s final innocence before the War -- genteel, gracious, and steeped in manners.  


How I came across the note 
I was visiting the Archives doing some follow-up research regarding my essay on the history of Front and Bathurst. I discovered that one of the subjects of my essay, John Doty, had written a reference letter for MacLean. The letter was tucked away inside a box of MacLean-related files.

As a young man MacLean had left home and his very first job was working at the Doty Machine Works as a machinist. Owing to a defect in MacLean’s eyesight, he was forced to give up the trade and to seek employment elsewhere.

Canada’s publishing history might have been quite different if MacLean hadn’t abandoned his career at the Doty Machine Works!

My heritage-nerd card...

The note from Borden was a few pages after that of Doty’s, in a file marked Correspondence - General. Serendipitous discoveries can be most rewarding. I highly recommend a visit to the Archives for any budding historical researcher.

It’s a splendid facility whose major drawback is its location -- ‘at Ultima Thule’ (as a historian acquaintance described it), on the campus of York University. Until the subway to York is completed, it’s a bit of a trek to get there from downtown. Pro-tip: bring a USB key -- you can save images from the computerized microfiche readers there!