A few weeks ago I promised a diatribe against microblogs, so here it goes. Ever since I put on my Lord Vader mask and bought an iPod last year, I've been addicted to podcasts. One of my favorites is a weekly called This Week in Tech in which an assortment of older guys (and occasionally a girl) name-check web 2.0 CEOs and talk about tech news and product releases. They were a bit too pro-Apple for my tastes until the delightful iPhone Firmware Bricking (which also deserves its own post) brought them back to Earth. But one thing they frequently discuss is Web 2.0 companies, including microblogs.

The entire Web 2.0 movement centers around the notion that we all yearn to collaborate and communicate with like-minded netizens. In some cases, such as Wikipedia and (debatably) YouTube, it has resulted in either a productive or entertaining contribution to online society. In others (Friendster, Facebook, MySpace, etc.) it has resulted in a short-lived, hard-on-the-eyes fad. An entry that will hopefully fall into the latter category is microblogs.

Think about the positive aspects of weblogs: Finding out someones thoughts about a noteworthy topic, reading oft-updated short writings by someone with a writing style you enjoy, losing every week at NFL picks, etc. Now think of all that is wrong with weblogs: the minutiae of someone's daily life, bouncing icons about their current mood, and which bad jangly garage-rock song they're listening to at every moment. Microblogs remove all of the positive aspects and pile on the negative aspects, to the point where it becomes an unending stream of one-sentence updates on what someone is doing at the moment ("going to the store, got to get some dinner", "waiting in line at the store", "OMG! The cashier is out of pennies!!!!1") often posted from a cell phone or blackberry-like device, must to the likely chagrin of whoever is behind them in line at the store.

One such microblog site is Jaiku, which apparently was just bought by Google, hopefully so that they can start blocking all entries from their search results. Here is a link to the Jaiku of the host of This Week in Tech, Leo Laporte: Leo's Jaiku. Now Leo hosts nearly a dozen weekly podcasts on various topics as well as running a number of websites and blogs, most of which are extremely informative and entertaining. Yet apparently this is the only venue where I can find out in one sentence that he's admitting that he spent $500+ on an iPhone, only to use it as an underpowered iPod (as opposed to those who unlocked it and then updated their firmware, who now have a $500+ paperweight. Zing!).

Why is this necessary? What need do these sites fulfill? Does anyone really need to know that I'm in line at the grocery store, sitting in traffic on the way to work, or listening to that inane Feist song? I keep hearing lots of reasons there won't be another tech bubble like there was at the turn of the millennium, but the fact that sites like Jaiku and MySpace are being sold for millions of dollars and that business are throwing millions into advertising within the giant waste or bandwidth that is Second Life would lead me to believe otherwise.

And now on to the picks. Lucas, I've revived our point-counterpoint on Spygate a few picks down...

SF at NYG: In a pathetic NFC, the Giants continue to coast along despite a below-average quarterback and no secondary to speak of. But the worst part is, Jeremy Shockey hasn't said anything dumb recently. They're about due for a comedown loss, but I'll wait on it until next week. NYG

BAL at BUF: The story of this NFL season has been injuries to quarterbacks. Both of these teams are starting backups, and both backups may be starters by the time the season is done with. Despite their QB troubles, the Ravens are a quiet (and very misleading) 4-2. Upset Special. BUF

NE at MIA: Let's play a game here. Pretend that there was a team that watched film and stole another team's signals, later using the signals to anticipate the other team's plays and leading to a victory. After the game, the theft and competitive advantage were revealed. Which of the following happened? A) Pundits pilloried the organization and said that all preceding wins should be stricken from the record books. B) A prominent football columnist went on his soapbox and railed against the team's coach, predicting that he would be fired by the end of the season, and alluded to a vast NFL conspiracy. C) The NFL fined the organization hundreds of thousands of dollars and took away a 1st-round draft pick. D) The offending team bragged about it in the newspaper after the game and no one ever said a word about it. If you said D, you would be correct, as this exact scenario happened in Miami's 21-0 victory over the Patriots last year. Read about the resulting NFL investigation into the incident and tell me how this is any different than "Spygate". NE

ATL at NO: I don't buy that the Saints are back on track, but I also don't buy that Byron Leftwich has learned Atlanta's pathetic offense yet. NO

AZ at WAS: Surprise surprise, Kurt Warner (or "The Ken Griffey Jr. of the NFL") got injured last week in the first quarter. WAS

TEN at HOU: If Vince Young doesn't play, the Titans have no chance. Can you name one receiver they have? HOU

TB at DET: Oh Lions, you got a whole week off to consider whether or not to play defense this week. My guess is they spent most of the time playing Madden. Or dogfighting. Or buying sports cars. Oh what the heck. DET

KC at OAK: Priest Holmes or not, the Chiefs aren't this good. OAK

NYJ at CIN: The Bengals have become the old bengals, the ones with Carl Pickens, Darnay Scott, Boomer Esiason, and no defense. Still, Chad Pennington's noodle-arm is finally being exposed by the rest of the league. CIN

STL at SEA: In the race for last team with a win, the Rams took a big hit when they revealed that Gus Frerotte is heading back to the bench. Apparently broken ribs are better than 5 interceptions. SEA

CHI at PHI: Who knows, who cares. PHI

MIN at DAL: Is Adrian Peterson really the second coming of Walter Payton, or will he be contained by a team that can put 10 men in the box and key in totally on him since his QB may or may not be present on the field. Hmm... DAL

PIT at DEN: With every game the Broncos lose, the Patriots get closer to not having to play them in the playoffs. PIT

IND at JAX: I just can't do it, Indy has had 2 weeks to prepare for this. IND