Elmer of eBay

In my favorite hobby -- amateur radio -- there's a term for a wise mentor: Elmer. Ironic the new major domo of the JumpTV group we're meeting with goes by the name of Elmer. From the very feng shui powerpoint to a fierce commitment to community, he cuts an impressive swath through the event. Of course, when you hear someone echoing your own theories, why they must be a genius.

He should know a little about communities, having spent the past five years with eBay. For the immediate future at UA, it is reassuring to hear white is the new black in color scheme (better to let you school color through), that white space (not to be confused with the color) is not waste, that we have turned the corner to where clarity of message is more important than cramming something into every last corner of space. Too often in the past we've seen this with an interior decorating motif best expressed as no wall goes "un-hogged".

Elmer has graciously agreed to share a pair of his PPT slides that hit home on Fan First -- that the rising generations go to the internet and their friends for their opinions and news and the fastest growing segment of domain visit in the past year was social networking. The first is not that surprising, but it's great to get some numbers to support. The second note bears a follow up. Consider that SNW holds 16% of the traffic -- a category of website that did not exist in the surveys three years ago.