No, your honor, we're not willing to stipulate 

Following the "bet on tech youngsters" debate with interest, being an old fart myself. Wilson | Winer.

I don't like seeing yeah-but reactions like "we're wiser" or "we can shepherd them," because I think it infers a stipulation that we greyhairs are not as able to innovate. I'm not buying that. There are people of all ages whose brains run in worn dry ruts, and people of all ages who are able to make rich connections and conceive breakthrus. So that must mean there's some other issue rumbling underneath this youth-is-all theory.

I-I-I don't think you want to do this 

The Consumerist's lawyer advises her Dell adversary against pursuing a take-down order for an advice post from a former Dell kiosk contractor. It's the last letter in the thread, from Gaby. (Via Mathew Ingram.)

Granted it may have been written as much for our consumption as for the lawyer's private reading, but it's a brilliant, polite and informal way of saying, "I don't think you really want to mess with bloggers." Why can't more lawyers talk that way?

Do you think it's possible that the internet might be helping to usher in a new way of lawyering in which tough-guy, we'll-scare-you-then-we'll-crush-you tactics will come to be seen as old-fashioned and laughable? That would be such a wonderful thing.

Poking around Facebook, but not poking 

While I'm still skeptical and a little grumpy about Facebook, I've been snooping around. It's such a force you sort of have to follow it if you want to pretend to have an informed opinion about social media stuff. Maybe it will grow on me, who knows?

I added the Flixster movies app. (Sorry, I'm afraid I don't really know how to properly link to things within Facebook.) Couple notes:

- I don't like using my friends virally. When you add a third-party app the success screen presents a checkbox list of your friends, with those who have not added the app checked by default. I unchecked them.

- It was interesting to see that both of my kids had already added Flixster, and posted reviews, with a couple raves of older movies I turned them onto. Nice. (But... what does the acronym "ftw" mean, or shouldn't I ask? Later: must be "for those wondering," in this context.)

Wondering if my younger son, entering college this fall, will follow in his brother's footsteps and use these spaces to keep up with scattered high school friends. Nice for them. The older one started out four years ago with all his buds in a group on Live Journal. He seems to have moved mostly to Facebook now.

It's funny how the kids seem to think it's only their world, or nobody over 22 has the key to the door. One of the big guy's friends looked shocked and scared a couple years ago when I mentioned I kept up with her cartooning through my son's Live Journal feed.

Related to the impression that nobody sees their conversations, I've also noticed that kids who use these spaces in a sort of emo way play a little game with themselves. They pretend they're making private notes about things like breakups with boyfriends and girlfriends while knowing full well the ex will see it, or will hear about it through the grapevine.

I wonder how these conventions will translate to the bigger world including grownups, and also wonder how the kids feel about the invasion. I'll have to ask.

External validation junkie 

Gratifying to see Jeff Jarvis call my widget nightmare movie "hilarious." I needed that with my t-rank sinking like a stone while bloggers employing viral techniques are doubling their inbounds. I don't blame them or judge them for it; but it's not for me. I spent so many years in PR dreaming up stunts that distaste for promotion runs deep and stubborn. I shouldn't pay any attention to Technorati.