Wikipedia describes doldrums the following way:

The doldrums is a colloquial expression derived from historical maritime usage for those parts of the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean affected by the Intertropical Convergence Zone, a low-pressure area around the equator where the prevailing winds are calm. The low pressure is caused by the heat at the equator, which makes the air rise and travel north and south high in the atmosphere, until it subsides again in the horse latitudes. Some of that air returns to the doldrums through the trade winds. This process can lead to light or variable winds and more severe weather, in the form of squalls, thunderstorms and hurricanes. The doldrums are also noted for calm periods when the winds disappear altogether, trapping sailing powered boats for periods of days or weeks.

The first instance of the word doldrum came into the popular lexicon during the early 19th century. In it’s original usage, it was used to describe a dullard: a dull and sluggish fellow. It was likely derived from “dol”, meaning dull while it’s form was taken from “tantrum” or a fit or display of bad temper. A doldrum was quite literally an individual who engaged in a fit of dullness. The term came to be used to describe a general state of low spirits. In The Island, a poem about that described in part the mutiny on the Bounty, Lord Byron used the term in a nautical context:

“From the bluff head where I watch’d to-day, I saw her in the doldrums; for the wind Was light and baffling.”
[Note: baffling winds are those which are shifting and variable, making progress under sail impossible.]

Shortly after that usage, the phrase “in the doldrums” came to be used to refer to sailing ships that were becalmed and not able to progress. After reports of ships becoming becalmed in the horse latitudes, it was mistakenly thought that the reports were actually describing the location as opposed to the actual state of the vessel. This colloquialism came to be inextricably tied to the region after being referenced in Matthew Maury’s The physical geography of the sea written in 1855:

“The ‘equatorial doldrums’ is another of these calm places. Besides being a region of calms and baffling winds, it is a region noted for its rains.”

So what does this lengthy dissertation on doldrums have to do with associations, technology, knowledge management, learning, social media or my blog in general? Right now it seems to perfectly describe my state of mind personally and professionally. As I referenced in an earlier post, I recently transitioned positions and am responsible for a high priority and highly contentious project concerning the future of our online communities. As a result I have had a very hard time managing my days. In fact, the sentence from the Wikipedia entry: “this process can lead to light or variable winds and more severe weather, in the form of squalls, thunderstorms and hurricanes. The doldrums are also noted for calm periods when the winds disappear altogether, trapping sailing powered boats for periods of days or weeks” seems to accurately describe the past few weeks. I no sooner survive a storm at sea and begin to regain my composure and start thinking about my blogging when I either can’t find my flow or simply lose some of my motivation. I suspect it’s simply a matter of time until I get back into a routine and am once again able to integrate blogging into my daily routine. When I return look for a new look and feel for the site and some added features on the site.

Until then, I simply wanted to let everyone know where my head was at. And keeping with my theme of sharing some of the more interesting finds that I come across, I’ll share with you something that really got my attention this evening: Yahoo’s! oneConnect. According to TechCrunch:

OneConnect will pull together contacts from your mobile phone, Yahoo address book, and social networks, including: Bebo Dopplr Facebook Flickr Friendster Hi5 Last.fm LinkedIn Myspace Twitter You will be able to see whether your contacts are online, recent messages, status updates, uploaded photos, and other activity streams for each one. Of course, you will also be able to send them messages via e-mail, IM, and SMS. The mobile app will save SMS and IM conversations as a single thread, even if you are texting and the other person is using Yahoo Messenger. The app also supports AIM, MSN Messenger, and Google Talk.

Yahoo didn’t invent anything here, but simply integrating all of these services is powerful stuff. If you think about it, oneConnect is a mobile portal for the social Web. It connects you to your friends online and then gets out of the way.

You can read more at TechCrunch or at Yahoo! I have been contemplating the idea of Social Network Fatigue, and suspect I am not alone. I think that applications like this would likely go a long way to helping relieve or eliminate that.