With all the fresh air rushing thru my system, I was in mindblogging mode. Reflecting on all the data I have been consuming here and there.

Yesterday afternoon I tried out new bicycles at a bicycle shop in downtown Basel. I am thinking of buying a new bicycle. My Univega will soon be 10 years old. And a lot has been happening in the bicycle space since then.

I read Scoble’s post on reducing noise on Facebook. Useful! I don’t really have the a signal to noise problem on FB, but they are offering more and more control. Which is good.

On Twitter: Did you see that you can now embed tweets?

yay! no chiperoni today! RT @wetterbasel: Heute: Klar bei max. 19 Grad, Morgen: Nebel bei max. 18 Grad, (Stand: 11:00 Uhr)

— san mangwana(@nchenga) March 24, 2012

How to find the embed code:

• Select a tweet.
• Click on Details.
• Click on Embed this Tweet.
• Copy the code to your webpage.

Although I am quite sure that I will keep my screenshot collection of fun tweets.

The effort to tweak all these corporate social media channels is getting higher than high. Don’t let the social media corporations take over.

Instead of just consuming content, I encourage you to create content. Write a blog, take photos, learn something new, write how-tos, write about your area of expertise, own your own data, participate, enter into dialog, have fun. Here are some ideas:

Top 10 Essential DIY Skills That Aren’t as Hard as You Think -lifehacker.com/5896102/top-10…

— san mangwana(@nchenga) March 24, 2012

I am planning to attend BarcampBodensee in June. Anybody else coming from the Basel area? It would be a great opportunity to present an updated version of my presentation on mobile internet usage in Malawi.

So much has happened in this space. And even in a downturn, TNM has managed to increase its subscriber base by 35% in 2011. Compare and contrast those kind of numbers with the saturated markets here in Europe.

The number of Facebook users from southern Africa is increasing despite the high internet access costs. Socialbaker lists 95 820 users from Malawi.

Leave a comment or contact me if you can provide further interesting data / anecdotes / user behaviour on internet usage patterns in the warm heart of Africa.

Thank you for reading and supporting chiperoni.ch. Alles wird gut.

P.S.: I missed a LOLCat photo opportunity today: a cat stretched out on the seat of Vespa. Unfortunately I didn’t have a cam with me.

_____
This is a chiperoni post.

Sunny Sunday

No mountains. A few hills.

I only took a few photos. Coming soon.

_____
This is a chiperoni post.

Bike tour to Bad Säckingen and back

I wanted to avoid cycling along the Rhine cos it is so monotonous and boring on the German side (done it before and found it boring). I started ok but somewhere between Märt and Efringen-Kirchen all bicycle path signs took me down to the river. So I ended up on the Rhein-Radweg. On my way back, I took a different route via Istein village.

About 20 km one way. Easy ride.

View Larger Map

Some snapshots

_____
This is a chiperoni post.

Bike tour Basel to Bad Bellingen and back

Via Weil am Rhein, Binzen and Wollbach, along the railway tracks to Kandern.

Easy ride.

 
Wow, Google Maps now offers a bicycle option in its Get Directions menu. Though not for the route below.
 

View Larger Map

_____
This is a chiperoni post.

Bike tour to Kandern and back

Martin Gyger is showing recent work in a small show at:

Gemeinschaftspraxis Auberg 7,
Zentrum für Osteopathie,
Auberg 7 in 4051 Basel

Related news item:
In a 3sat Kulturzeit interview Heike Faller said if you really want to invest ethically, you need to understand the product you are investing in, e.g. a piece of land in an area that you know well or a local artist that you’ve met and believe in.

_____
This is a chiperoni post.

Martin Gyger is exhibiting

Like at the Velo Parking at Basel SBB.

This evening a young woman was looking for her bicycle. A couple of days ago a young man was wandering up and down the aisles in search of his bike.

And the same has happened to me as well. I was extremely tired and couldn’t remember in which aisle I had left my bike.

In almost all cases, people grab their cell phone and call someone.

Wouldn’t it be cool if you could call your bike and it would identify itself by ringing out loud or flashing a light?

Which reminds me of another cool presentation I saw at Lift 11:

The web of things

_____
This is a chiperoni post.

Bicycle parking gadget

But I am enjoying being outside. It was so beautifully warm today.

And. It is a good way to reflect.

Time for mind blogging.

I like being outdoors.

I really like living in Switzerland. I think it is great that people take such meticulous care of their houses and gardens.

This afternoon I went to see “Wien 1900 – Klimt, Schiele und ihre Zeit” at the Beyeler Museum. I liked the architecture and poster designs. And Klimt’s landscapes.

I didn’t like the additional shopping area they added for Wien 1900 merchandise. One shop is enough.

A couple of Wikipedia links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egon_Schiele
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gustav_Klimt

You’ve probably heard of poetry slams. But there are also science slams: 10 mins to present your research project. There is one in Freiburg im Br. on 29th November and 17th January. I would love to go and see one.

The incredibly influential a. of Handmade 2.0 invited me to a new web app called Pinterest. We have been blogging since January 2003. And it has been an incredible journey…. Thank you a. for the billions of emails, links and ideas. I am truly amazed at the amount of data we have collected.

I am still trying to figure out how to use Facebook as can be seen occasionally in my tweets. I worry that a platform like Facebook could replace the web. That would be the end of HTML pages, simplicity, transparency and diversity.

That’s why it’s important to support and use other platforms and tools. Try out WordPress and Drupal. Learn HTML. Write your own articles. Voice your opinion. Become involved. Think before you click re-tweet, like or comment.

It is my belief that after the fragmentation of the media scene and citizen journalism and the removal of the gatekeepers, we will see consolidation and the rise of new media giants with new gatekeepers.

_____
This is a chiperoni post.

A Sunday evening in mid-November

MySpace

Website

Lots of Youtube videos

Kaufdorf car cemetery video

_____
This is a chiperoni post.

Stucky plays Stucky

Tomotec helped me to extract the broken key from the lock for free. Thank you.

Tip: remember to lubricate your bicycle lock at regular intervals!

_____
This is a chiperoni post.

My Basel bicycle tip

An example of an analog tweet…

_____
This is a chiperoni post.

Analog Tweet