On the (Google) plus side

Google's attempts at a social media platform have been widely ridiculed by the internet, and with the entrenched positions of Facebook and Twitter they face an uphill battle when it comes to user adoption. I use Twitter and have a Facebook that I never check and I'm here to tell you that if you're not on Google+, you're missing out.

Why should you take all the time and effort to invest in another social media platform when you already have Facebook, Twitter and other accounts? No one you know is on Google+, so what's the pay off? Well... maybe the fact that no one you know is on Google+ is a benefit. Your grandparents are not there, and even if they were, the circles allow you to easily control what you're sharing with whom. Certainly it gives you a lot more control than Facebook.

But if no-one you know is on the platform... won't it be boring? It is anything but boring. Google+ has, in my opinion, found a perfect synergy between the publishing/subscription style of twitter, the micro-blogging abilities of sites like Tumblr and the "friendship management" of Facebook. There are enough interesting people, groups and sites posting to Google+ that if you have an interest in a subject, there are multiple feeds that you can subscribe to. Much like when you first join twitter, you can subscribe to the feeds that post content you are interested in.

As an example, here is a sampling of the posts that I've found and shared on G+:

• A post about robotic jellyfish
• A news update about the headlining fight at UFC 189
• An epic geeky tattoo
• Lots and lots and lots of awesome street art 

So maybe next time you're going to refresh your facebook page for the 12th time this hour, click on over to my Google+ page and have a look... you might enjoy the visit enough to try it out for yourself.

-Odd
"One of us, One of us." -Freaks (1932)

MtG: The State of Standard

I've been playing magic again since the end of the Innistrad block, putting in my reps playing standard every week at my local FNM and I think it's worth taking a minute to appreciate how great a job Wizards are doing with their set design.

Gone are the dark days of Kaw-Blade and Affinity where one deck ruled standard, in our modern era the Magic design team have been exceptional in balancing new sets to support both great limited and constructed formats. As I type this we are sitting the meat of the Dragons of Tarkir meta-game and I couldn't be happier.

The meta-game in standard at the moment feels really broad and open. It seems to me that there are more options for truly competitive decks in standard than at any other time I've been playing magic. You can choose between Mono-Red, UW heroic, Abzan Agro, Jeskai Tempo, Green ramp, GB Devotion, Bant Megamorph, Abzan Midrange, UB Control, Esper Dragons and Abzan Control... and those are just the acknowledged Tier 1 decks.

If we move down a half step we pick up other decks like RG Bees, RG Dragons, Temur Aggro, Sultai Whip and various flavors of collected company to name just a few. We're absolutely spoiled for choice.

The meta-game is so broad that I feel like the difference between the top Tier 1 decks and a well tuned home-brew is really negligible in terms of pure power and a lot of that difference can be made up by playing something that no-one expects. For a while I was quite happy playing a (probably hugely sub-optimal) 5 colour dragon ramp deck, and I'm currently running an aggressive Temur deck that I feel confident with against any deck in the mega-game.

It feels like every time there is a GP or PT level tournament, the entire format shifts and a brand new deck lands up on top and that makes it exciting as a brewer, a competitor and a magic player.

Well done, Wizards. Keep it up.

-Odd
"Dragons emerge from tempests fully formed and terribly hungry" - Decent of Dragons, flavour text

Geeks, Games and Greatness - Episode 45

We went on for ages this week and I had to cut it down quite significantly to get it to a manageable size for our hosting service... we also recorded this late and so I edited it in a hurry and as such there might be a few weird cuts in this episode.

Regardless, enjoy your weekly geekout.

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