EJM Designs Limited Blog

United Healthcare: Prostitute Message?

2011-11-29T18:21:00.000-08:00

Recent commercial from United Healthcare:

This is a great example of an unfortunate (or purposeful) advertising experience. The ad is fine, the message works, but then there's the music behind it; it's Lykke Li's "Get some" and the music at the end applies to the lyrics:

Like the shotgun need an outcome
I'm your prostitute, you gon get some

What?

In its own right, it's a catchy song and Lykke Li a talented artist I've been listening to for a while. But does United Healthcare really want to posture itself with the refrain of a song that includes the word "prostitute?"

Your thoughts and comments are welcome.

Giving Thanks ...for My Life

2011-11-28T17:18:00.000-08:00

Back from a wonderful weekend visiting my family up in Cleveland, it's hard not to reflect on giving thanks, as my very life was in danger the whole time.

After almost 500 miles of highway traveling, my wife, daughter, dog, and I got back to Cincinnati safe and sound. I ventured out to Kroger to pick up an easy dinner of pizza rolls and some staples for the house. During a slow turn after a stop, my left front wheel decided to detach from the steering mechanism and point in a direction contrary to my right front tire; I'd lost a tie rod.

Within minutes, seven guys were out of their cars pushing me to the sidewalk (literally linebacker-ing the dead weight - thank goodness it was raining and slick). I called AAA and all was well. But if that had happened at ANY point over the previous 4 days, specifically the drive there and back, my family's life would've been in terrible danger.

Shout-out to Ceiling Cat. I owe you one.

So I'm Back, From Outer Space

2011-10-27T17:58:00.000-07:00

July 11th was the last time I posted here. I've been busy. But I've also been just lazy in my time management and my priorities. I know, I know. I understand you're upset. But I'm here. Now. And we'll work this out. Just give me some time. Just a week or two. And we'll get back on just like we used to. It's going to be a cold winter; be good to have someone to curl up and read. Just saying.

So starting tomorrow (or, I guess, today), I'll be posting every weekday, M-F with occasional weekend Gravy. I'll keep it light and insightful, just like it used to be.

Thanks for reading. Be talking to you real soon.

The Future Doesn't Come to the Couch

2011-07-11T12:58:00.000-07:00

I was actually think about the future, mulling over my plans for my business, how to better serve my clients when I came across this quote:

When people indulge a little too much in their fantasies about the future, daydreaming rather than thinking about the obstacles that stand in the way of making their desired future actually happen, it saps their motivation and energy. So it's important to not spend too much of your time thinking ONLY about how great the future will be - you've got to couple that with thoughts about how the work will get done.

- social psychologist Heidi Grant Halvorson

Wow! Yes, no only are your thoughts just as important as actions, but the type of thoughts you're having will either help or hinder. Pie-in-the-sky is fine, if you're dedicating time to how to bake and fly. In other words: See the goal, plan the path, take action. If you're continually doing nothing but staring at the goal, the smallest pebbles will become stumbling blocks.

Make it a great week!

Chocolate Sex?

2011-04-20T19:02:00.000-07:00

Perhaps you've seen this Hershey's commercial:

Yay! Cute song! Chocolate love! Get me a Hershey's bar right now!

But some (most) of us were around when Modern English released "I Melt With You" and some might even remember the intro lyrics:

Moving forward using all my breath
Making love to you was never second best

Wait, what?

So Hershey's has clearly positioned themselves into a sexual reference.

My question to you: on purpose or by accident? Does the child-like cover of the song make it worse?

I'd love to hear your thoughts.

April 1: Get Your Internet Game Face On

2011-03-31T22:21:00.000-07:00

If you're internet savvy (or if you're not and getting there), you know already that not everything you read online is valid. You need to check sources, hoaxes, and any other reason to tear silliness to ribbons.

Get your internet game face on.

Today is April Fool's Day.

While you should always check backgrounds and sources, April 1 is notorious for being a source of bedlam for the internet world: anyone who has a computer can post anything on the internet. And while most of these April Fool's bits of humor are not remotely malicious, they will make you look like a fool if you read something and say OMG! I have to pass this on to everyone I know!

Credible sources - including Google - have been party to such tomfoolery.

The lesson on April 1 is: Do your research and wait until tomorrow. Then, if still credible, do your email forwarding then.

Save the servers! No April 1st email forwards!

New Angle, Old Scam

2011-03-28T15:57:00.000-07:00

I know all my readers know better than to respond to an email saying you won the lottery (domestic or international), right? And no one from England or any country in Africa really wants you to help in the transfer of clandestine monies. Right?

But I'm still surprised when a small tweak in this absurd formula nets these scammers a heap of new suckers. And so I present something that came to my inbox last week. Behold, the "You've been scammed" Scam Spam letter:

Greetings to you

SCAMMED VICTIM/ $500,000 BENEFICIARIES.
REF/PAYMENTS CODE: ECB/06654 $500,000 USD.

On behalf of the Obama's Foundation and UNITED NATIONS, we wish to notify
you as a beneficiary of $500,000 USD in compensation of scam
victims.This is to bring to your notice that we are delegated from the
Obama's Foundation and UNITED NATIONS in Central Bank to pay 150 victims
of scam $500,000 USD (Five Hundred Thousand Dollars) each. You are listed
and approved for this payment as one of the scammed victims to be paid
this amount.

According to the number of applicants at hand, 114 Beneficiaries has
been paid, over a half of the victims are from the United States, we
still have a pending of 36 compensations left to be paid. Your
particulars was mentioned by one of the Syndicates who was arrested as
one of their victims of the operations, you are hereby warned not to
communicate or duplicate this message to him for any reason what so
ever as the U.S. secret service is already on trace of the other
criminals. So keep it secret till they are all apprehended.Other
victims who have not been contacted can submit their application as
well for scrutiny and possible consideration

Do contact HSBC INTERNATIONAL BANK, United Kingdom Branch for
verification and release of your $500,000 USD that we have deposited
with the HSBC BANK,UK.
The account log on will be presented to you by the bank in order to
access the funds before releasing into your nominated bank account.
You will transfer the funds into your nominated account on-line as the
HSBC BANK,UK will provide the necessary information to you. Please if you
are willing to accept the funds, do contact the Managing Director of the
HSBC BANK,UK with the following details:

You are to fill the appropriate form and submit to the bank.
[1] Full Names:.............................
[2] Contact address:....................
[3] Direct Telephone:....................
|4| Occupation:.............................

Managing Director of the HSBC BANK,UK
Name: Barr Mark Johnson.
Private Email: barr.markj39@hotmail.com

Yours Faithfully,
Dr.Majlis Daerah Marang
Coordinator.
OBAMA'S FOUNDATION AND UNITED NATIONS© 2010

Terrible English? Check!
Dubious personal email from the director of a financial institution? Check!
Unnecessary CAPS? CHECK!
Strange premise? Check!
Alternative red flag (2010? And an unnecessary copyright?)? Check!

C'mon folks. Bottom line: If someone you don't know sends you an email and wants to give you money, they are lying.

And because you already know this, you need to tell someone who might not know. Only through education of the non-savvy will we stop the predatory actions of a few thousand vultures. And it is our mission to spread that protection.

The One You Feed

2011-03-03T16:20:00.001-08:00

An old Cherokee Chief was teaching his grandson about life.

"There is a great fight going on inside of all of us", he told him, "and it's a fight between two wolves.

"One is evil. He is anger, envy, guilt, sorrow and ego.

"And the other is good. He is joy, love, hope, truth and faith."

Grandson asked him, "Which wolf will win?"

The Chief replied,

"The one you feed."

Love. Every. Day.

2011-03-01T14:32:00.000-08:00

Monday

Why love Monday? It's your reset button, your hit-the-ground-running, your New Years Day of the week. Mondays are when we get a chance to look at what we can do better from the previous week and make that a focus.

Many people look at Monday as a plague - "a case of the Mondays" - but this is the day that owns the rest of the week, the day to wake with Success! in your head, to put on the conductor's cap and drive that train. Because if you don't, you're nothing but a passenger.

Takeaway: Monday is your engine!

Tuesday

Why love Tuesday? I've found that most people poo-poo away Mondays, so Tuesday is the busiest day of the week. We're getting things done, helping clients, taking calls, making calls, building new business and existing relationships.

Beside that, it's the "release" day of the week: movies on DVD, video games, new CDs, and - for the most part - books. This Tuesday, make business happen and find something new to love.

Takeaway: Tuesday is your genesis!

Wednesday

Why love Wednesday? Most people call it "Hump Day" while they slog through the week, the mid-point of a dismal outlook. NO! Wednesday is the first sign the business week is soon coming to a close, that there is a limit to what can happen in a business week. Get moving!

Send out your reminders, contact your clients, make sure something is happening before Friday.

Plus: New comics are released.

Takeaway: Wednesday is your lifesource!

Thursday

Why love Thursday? Based on the past few days, Thursday should be relatively quiet, so catch up on some things. Make Thursday the day you knock out your absurd inbox or make a weekly trip to your local networking group or just put on the headphones, hit the driving music (me: techno), block out the distractions and get it done.

As you may have heard, the weekend's on its way.

Takeaway: Thursday is your catch-up!

Friday

Why love Friday? What's not to love about Friday? It's the last "work day" of the week!

Most people fluff off on a Friday even more than a Monday. For some it's even more stressful because you've got to find some closure to the week, need to get X number of things done before the weekend.

But it's Friday! Make sure you spend some moments in the morning planning your day. Get what you can done and be okay with putting off the rest to next week. Close the deals, pause the conversations.

Plus: New movies are released in theatres every Friday. Popcorn time!

Takeaway: Friday is your closure!

Saturday

Why love Saturday? If you're like me, Saturdays are sometimes work overflow. But whether you work for yourself or someone else, Saturdays NEED to be yours! Do what you must - absolutely must - and nothing more business-wise. Get out there and fix that thing with the door or put a nail in that creaky step and retire in the evening with friends or family (and if you have neither nearby, call me) because you've been knocking it down hard for the last few days and if you work hard the general wisdom is that you must play hard - or at least play somewhat.

Takeaway: Saturday is your leisure!

Sunday

Why love Sunday? Football!

Just kidding. Yes, there's football, but from a business perspective, Sunday is the recharge day, the visualization day. If you want to preempt your Monday, knock through some emails. Follow-up on the Saturday gutter-cleaning or basement-organizing you didn't quite finish.

But relax. Please. Relax. Play some video games, catch up on your DVR shows, rent a movie, but spend your best parts of this day the way you want to spend it: in quiet peace alone, with family or other loved ones. Decompress.

And as you end the day, prepare for tomorrow, even if it's just mentally saying to yourself "Success!" as you fall asleep. Because Monday's coming and Monday's exciting because Monday's your reset button, your hit-the-ground-running...

Takeaway: Sunday is your recharge!

Every Day

Why love Every Day?

Because you're here. You're alive. You're doing what you do and you're going to be better at it every single day you do it.

You're going to Love Every Day because if you don't, you will lose. You will fail, as a business and as a human being. Yes, you are allowed some bad days, some idontwannas, but your motivation is your own, your conductor-ship of the train or bus is yours to hold or drop.

Drive your bus. Conduct your train. Make it count in both business and in life. Work your ass off and spend serious time with those you care about. And don't - ever - forget yourself. Quiet- beer- video game- movie- meditation- time is probably the most important part of the equation.

So love yourself, love others, love what you do. In that order.

Love. Every day.

As my father coined: "Love is the bond."

Make it happen in your life. Make it happen for you. And never forget to love every day.

Kill the Idontwannas

2011-02-13T21:46:00.000-08:00

You've been there before: getting out of bed, waking up, answering the phone, checking your voicemail because you didn't answer the phone, running your business, making that meeting that you can skip...

I don't wanna...

I've mentioned this before about your thoughts defining who and what you are. When you hear that coming from inside your head, you need to snuff it. You need to step up and do what you know you need to do.

The Idontwannas will break you, and spill poison into your business and your life.

So get up, get a move-on. Make action your success, make motivation your mission. Live like you know you need to, even if - some days - you don't want to.

And if you can change that switch, even if you have to flip it every day or even every few hours, do it.

Make your life as beautiful as you think it can be. You're driving the bus. You're the one in charge. So do it. As Captain Picard said: Make it so.

Wendy's Fried Linguistics

2011-02-10T12:32:00.000-08:00

You may have noticed that since November, Wendy's has been offering slimmer, skin-on fries called -- well, let the branding speak for itself:

At first glance, you notice the rustic/artisan patina print, "Natural" and "Sea Salt!?" OMG - Wendy's is going all natural, must be organic or something. Must have!

They did an amazing job on their branding for this because that was my first, subconscious reaction as well: Yay! Wendy's goes natural, go green! Ah, but it is not to be so.

Quick review of the language

Natural-Cut: This is not "Natural, cut" but natural-cut, literally meaning cut naturally. Now I can imagine a few horrific scenarios where you might see potatoes being cut and exclaim "Oh, how unnatural!" but seriously: how do you cut things unnaturally. That's like advertising "Coherent-Reality Chips." When wouldn't they be? And if they went through such extensive pains NOT to call their fries natural, what are they exactly?

Fries: Lest you forget amongst all the magical potato language and graphics, these are french fries. They are fried taters. And while fried taters may be delicious and varied in taste and preparation, they are NEVER good for you.

Sea Salt: Yes, sea salt is different than table salt, especially the micron-powdered stuff they used to coat the fries with, but it's still salt. You ever hear a doctor tell his/her heart patient "The table salt is killing you, but if you can switch to sea salt, I think you'll be just fine."?

The Truth

Based on some preliminary articles, Wendy's missed the boat on this one. Despite appearing more appealing to foodies or naturalists, "the new fries will pack more sodium - a medium size fry goes from 350 milligrams to 500 milligrams ... and calories jumps 10 to 420."

Caveat emptor, my friends. If something looks too good to be true, ...well, you know.

(And on a personal note, I do think the new fries are pretty tasty.)

Unfortunate Ad: HISCOX

2011-02-10T09:04:00.000-08:00

I saw this ad over at The Oatmeal, a site full of witty and insightful web comics, seated amongst similarly-sized comic links like "How to Pet a Kitty" and the like.

Then I clicked it 'cause I was all like "OMG - thorough, well-thought-out joke site by which I may waste my time!" But I looked and I looked. And I couldn't find the funny fake-ness I anticipated it to be. And then I saw the figurative, tall, angry HR lady in a pant-suit looking down upon me with the disappointment of a sister in a habit, making that sad clicking noise out of the side of her mouth before barely audibly sighing "And what did you think would be so funny?" *

Did I mention I grew up with Cox Cable in the house?

* While I made a point of dramatizing it a bit, I am a professional when it comes to usability; the ad size tip-off, pre-click, to a quick scan and click-through of the target site lasted less than six seconds.

Do I Need to Adjust My SEO Every Month?

2011-02-09T03:32:00.002-08:00

NO.

Sorry. Allow me to elucidate.

I get the question all the time and not everyone likes my answer. The question generally comes from a client or potential client who heard from someone something to the effect of: "Yeah, Google's always adjusting its algorithm, so you've got to mix up that SEO every single month to keep up."

The Plan

Say you or a service provider puts together an all-inclusive, rear-kickin' SEO plan and executes it perfectly. Every page has a definitive focus, reinforced by the page title - h1 - copy Holy Relevance Trinity. Your meta data is tuned (if not always used), alt and title attribute tags are playing some killer backup and your copy is sufficient but not overkill, readable but keyword-dense.

What then?

Well, assuming the necessary submissions, robots.txt, autodiscovery are in place and nothing is done to accidentally sabotage the outcome, you've got a pretty good chance Google et.al. will begin indexing your pages or raising your rankings. After a couple weeks to a couple months, that is.

The Someone Quote

"Yeah, Google's always adjusting its algorithm, so you've got to mix up that SEO every single month to keep up."

The first problem with that general idea is the timing. Yes, you can be certain that the good folks at Google don't take one day off making tiny changes to the algorithm. But as we just mentioned, it may take a couple months to get moving. So what were you tweaking?

The second problem with the quote is the absolute arrogance it encompasses. That Someone does not know a whole lot about the algorithm, let alone the little adjustments; if they did, they would be busy on a yacht.

The last problem is necessity. If you already have a clear focus on your pages and a solid search engine optimization setup, how much can you accurately make that better by small tweaks from month to month? The answer is: you can't.

The Con(clusion)

The person who tells you that you need SEO adjustments every month either does not understand search engine optimization or is lying in order to perpetuate that myth - and perhaps even rope you into an unnecessary, expensive 12+ month SEO contract. Their gain, your loss.

In a worst-case scenario, you're looking at a never-ending game of ghost cat-and-mouse: "Sorry about the lack of any measurable results, but we're doing everything we can and Google keeps switching it up."

(Can you guess which parties do not appreciate my answer?)

A Recommendation

Search engine optimization does change, but except for the HUGE revisions (hint: they have names), the little tweaks aren't going to drastically affect your rankings, and the little tweaks that would be done to your site monthly are something a small- or medium- sized business has absolutely no need for.

After I explain this to a client, I give them a realistic recommendation: Yes, Google does change, but your focus does not, not by much. So after 90 days we'll take a look at analytics, at rankings, (at no charge) and if we see something that could increase your rankings, at THAT time we'll put together suggestions with justification into a proposal for additional SEO work.

In my professional opinion, anything else is either ignorance or deception.

(Sidenote for another post: Be wary of anyone separating web design from SEO, e.g. "And this is our SEO Package." "SEO Friendly" is what you get if you don't choose that package, which generally means "If you want it later, we'll tear out the drywall in your house to add the electric. Until then? Nothing, and we'll wait for your call.")

Video Friday: Catchphrases that Stick

2011-01-28T15:40:00.000-08:00

Because of io9.com's list of 10 catchphrases you swear you never use, I was inspired to snag some videos with famous sci-fi quotes (at least famous to me). Let me know what you think!

"Make it so."

This is Unix...

That's no moon...

Three seashells

Three seashells - in French?

Have a great weekend!

Mind the Nozzel

2011-01-18T16:26:00.001-08:00

Captured somewhere between Cinci and Chicago this Thanksgiving:

I think they're doing it wrong.

Don't Let the Alarm Clock Drive

2011-01-17T07:09:00.000-08:00

Here's a little motivational psychological tip to help you get every last bit of kick out in the morning: Don't let the alarm clock drive.

In other words, instead of getting up when you hear the blaring of the clock or the ring of your phone alarm, hit that snooze button (you know you're doing that already, anyway). Take a few deep breaths, run through your first steps of the morning, and get moving under your own power.

It's a small mind trick, but when you let the alarm clock drive the first act of your day, you're being pushed by an "outside" force. However, when you move on your own, get up between beeps, YOU are taking charge of the first moments of your day, you are grabbing ownership at the get-go. And that can make all the difference the whole day through.

Friday! Snow FAIL, Scrollwheel, Starting Line FAIL

2011-01-14T10:03:00.001-08:00

Things still snow-covered? Don't try to remove it like this:

I love helping others in understanding technology and the internet. But sometimes it's even worse than this:

And I guess we can close it out with one more FAIL:

Have a great weekend!

MyCleanPC.com - Buyer Beware

2011-01-13T14:59:00.000-08:00

Here's an edited version of the commercial with a humorous end, but the only bit I could come up with on short notice:

Now this has been around for a few years, and that tells me that someone's making a heap-load of money because it's become even more prevalent on television in the past few months. Or maybe I'm watching more late-night television.

More Than 3 Seconds

So aside from the spokesman looking and sounding like he's nursing a nasty cold (purposeful? virus?), the line that always bugs me is "Does it take more than three seconds for your email to load?"

What exactly does that mean?

Should I be clocking Outlook to see if the program opens in 3 seconds?
Should I be clocking the email load once Outlook opens?
Should I be clocking how long it takes to complete a send/receive request?
Is it how long it takes my browser to open in the process of checking online email?
Maybe the length of time it takes to bring up Gmail?
Does typing time count?
What's a jiffy?!
I'm so confused!

That's just my off-the-cuff process. Many people watch that commercial and respond "Yeah, slow email: bad."

And then they've got you.

But here's a tip: the whole thing is meant to be vague, indirect, and misleading, especially to people who find computers to be a little complicated and confusing.

What's the Harm?

You're going to go to their website and you'll see the giant green button and the word FREE all over the place and OMG you computer's so slow *click* and you're downloading and installing the executable file which will scan your registry. And it will tell you that you have registry errors. Want to fix them?

Oh, that's easy. We just have to discuss the little issue of purchasing the activation for the software so it can fix your computer.

Ah, but you're savvy, so you looked ...all over ...two links? Why won't they tell me how much it is before I scan and then have to buy it?

Exactly.

MyCleanPC.com is shilling for a program called CyberDefender. I don't care if it's the best dang registry scanner in the fracking world: The deliberate misdirection and manipulation of people who very simply may not know better is a SHADY practice and something to be abhorred.

Feel free to contact them to let them know they're shady.

But What Can I DO?

I know. I understand. Your computer is still slow and the most obvious solution on the teevee is actually a potentially dangerous bogeyman. Why not take a look at my post on The FREE Way to Clean & Protect Your Computer. It is completely legit: It highlights truly free programs that I have found work quite well and I get absolutely nothing for telling you about them. This is about making you a more savvy consumer.

That's one down. What scams or shady practices have you run into recently or in the past? Hit me in the comments and don't be afraid of the sidebar - I'm always available in a variety of ways and happy to take the time to chat about your thoughts or questions.

P.S. Depending on the branch of science, jiffy has several definitions as a length of time.

Friday Videos: Fried Gnocchi, Metrodome, Worst Web Meeting Evar

2010-12-17T05:30:00.000-08:00

Fried Gnocchi

A cautionary tale. Don't fry your gnocchi. Really. Don't. Evar.

(via urlesque)

Metrodome Roof Collapse snOMG!

If you haven't seen it yet, here's your chance.

Worst Web Meeting Evar

A little creation of my own, collecting all the head-shaking moments as a web developer in one meeting from hell.

Social Media: State Farm, Tempur-pedic, and Leveraging PR

2010-12-15T18:35:00.000-08:00

Tempur-pedic & State Farm have both been doing something in the past several months that I have seen NO other companies doing and I wanted to bring it to light.

Perhaps you've seen this commercial from Tempur-pedic?

"Ask me," they tempt you. "Go to Facebook," they say.

Or perhaps the "People Trust People" commercial from State Farm:

"Talk to State Farm ...but not yet."

Both of these commercials are taking a single idea, leveraging social media, and coming out more transparent and credible for it.

The idea is this: The guy/gal selling you something has words staged to sell. If you hear "X Company is awesome" from them, it doesn't carry NEARLY the weight of hearing "X Company is awesome" from a friend, friend on Facebook, or as a testimonial from an existing customer.

And these companies are taking a chance: if you're looking for negative views of Tempur-pedic or State Farm, you can find them on the internet. They're staking a claim on the positive reviews of their clients, and because they both have a solid product that people are generally happy with, they have faith that YOUR friends or other people you don't necessarily know will speak wonderfully about what they have to offer.

(Side Note: the psychology behind justifying a large purchase that's better than what they had [Tempur-pedic] or "nothing going wrong when nothing happens" [State Farm] is not being addressed here.)

The great thing about these campaigns is that it's a design every small business can emulate (as long as you don't have a backlog of unsatisfied clients).

How does it work for small business? Easy.

When you're networking, when you're selling yourself, when people ask (and they should): Why should I choose you? You answer them by saying "Here's what makes us special..." AND "We can do what you need to increase value to your company, but here are a couple people/companies that know what we can do. Talk to them first. If you're still interested, my number's on the card."

You, too, can leverage organic PR to grow your business. You just didn't know you needed to do it yet. Now you do. Make it happen.

Friday Videos: Star Trek Sitcom, Papa Johns Freakout, Transformers, Google Search 2010

2010-12-10T14:26:00.000-08:00

Star Trek: The Sitcom

A few years old, but bumped into it again this week. Brilliant.

Papa John's Freakout

Pizza can never be completed quickly enough for college-age Veruca Salt.

Transformers: Dark of the Moon

Official trailer!

Google Zeitgeist 2010

How the world searched in 2010

Have a great weekend!

Flashback Nostalgia: The 286 & Hindenburg

2010-12-01T17:59:00.000-08:00

I came across this historic video of the Hindenburg disaster and my nostalgia circuits lit up out of my mind:

Back in what must've been 1990 or 1991, I was about 13 and our first home computer was a 286 PC. I still laugh at the words the salesman at the computer store pitched to my father: "This thing has 40 MEGAbytes of hard drive space - you'd never fill that in your lifetime!" (Note: At the time, modified for data explosion, 40MB was like 4TB for home use.) He wasn't lying. He just didn't have any idea about Moore's Law.

I remember helping set up this computer and being so excited and one of the first things we did was access the Encarta encyclopedia program through the DOS operating system (I later was able to install Windows by modifying batch files to drop other BS and allocate necessary memory). My parents and I and one of my sisters clicked around and found ...VIDEOS!?!?!

The point being: the VERY FIRST video I ever saw on a computer was an Encarta file that must've been about 150 pixels wide of the Hindenberg disaster. I think we found a video of Hitler screaming something terrible in German after that. But as weird as it sounds, it was a defining moment in my life. I was energized with what computers had the potential to do and at the same time my post-modern referential file was opened at 13: "Oh, the humanity!" entered my lexicon before most of my peers and, well, I'd guess many Americans probably couldn't tell you the source of that quote to this day.

Hindenberg opened my eyes in many ways that were never imagined when that blimp went down in flames. And I guess it's iconic that the the highest tech of my time united me with the highest (dirigible) tech of that time.

Yay computers!

RIP Palm Pre: Jun 2009 - Nov 2010

2010-11-30T16:25:00.000-08:00

I loved you, Palm Pre. Yes, I took the chance and early-adopted and was aglow in your wonder from the first moment I purchased you. And while your OS sometimes faltered, I stood by you. And when iPhones and Androids mocked your lacking app catalogue, I fought for you. But, Palm Pre, you failed me.

Say NO to Crack

The Palm Pre has one fatal flaw that is shared with any and all touchscreen phones: crack the screen in a way that disables the ability to touch control the phone and the phone is not only dead to use, it is dead to transferring anything via USB and dead to a Sprint rep pulling your contacts from it.

Palm Pre, because of its particular shape, is especially prone to cracking.

Personally, I had my phone, not in a case, but in my pocket with a pen - I think that's how it started. Apparently an angled lean produced a slight crack in the face near the charger port on the right. It was sad, but not catastrophic. But basic use can turn a small blip into a monster, like a windshield splitting.

The crack spread towards the single button over a couple months. In the other direction it spread to crack the rest of the charger port and the piece holding in the port plug was disabled; it fell out. Two weeks ago, the crack hit the main button and spidered - on the inner-screen - in a 5-fingered mess.

At first, I could still use the screen in all but the lower right 1/4 quadrant. But then it got worse. Thanksgiving day I woke and noticed I couldn't drag the icon out to unlock it. My touchscreen had been rendered useless.

My New Sidearm

I've broken my Pre and didn't get insurance when I bought it, so it is dead. Luckily my wife recently upgraded from a Blackberry Curve to a Tour, so I'm now slinging a cranberry Curve.

I just need to get my contacts transferred...

Sprint & Palm: Customer Service ...?

First stop: Sprint store. Within a minute of presenting my phones and declaring the Pre screen useless the Sprint CSR said: Sorry, there's nothing we can do.

Great. Okay, second option: I have my contact data backed up on the Palm server through my profile. I can just access that, right?

WARNING: Always use the rule of 3's on data. With phone contact information, you want to back up with the device company, with Gmail, and obviously you'll have your data on your device. Lessons learned...

Palm has my data. But through a broken-English online chat with "Steve" and then his supervisor "Austin," it was clear that they had NO answer except: You will never see your data again unless you purchase another Palm product. Frustrated, I had them escalate it to Corporate (yes, you can do that) and got a call back yesterday. Yes, Sprint can transfer the data, but they'll need to use a separate device to login to Palm with my account and harvest the data from that.

Entering the store this afternoon, I talked to a very helpful and understanding rep name Cort. He was happy to answer any questions I had and even suggested something I'd never considered: if they have a Pre in store for a repair, they could just switch out screens temporarily to make that one screen press needed to generate the file for transfer.

Unfortunately, they didn't have any Pres. Nor did any of the other 3 Repair centers in the region from Dayton to Florence, KY. Boo. So now I'm waiting, calling every day to see if they've got one in so I can transfer hundreds of contacts to my new business lifeline.

Looking Back

The Palm Pre was a great phone. I enjoyed the ease of use of PalmOS, the slick feel of the "river stone" design, the Google integration, and the induction charging of the dock. Yum. I loved the squidgy tactile feel of the buttons that allowed my too-thick fingers to feel comfortable typing on such a small board.

I won't miss 5 integrated emails and moderate use killing the battery in 3-4 hours (activating WiFi at home or hotspot could extend that by 1-3 hours). I'll miss the multiple alarms but not some of them going off twice. I won't miss checking the phone for time and - creepy! - it jumping back a minute. I won't miss the sparse App menu.

After a few days playing with my Blackberry, I'm really missing the multitasking of the Pre (I can't check a text while using the GPS Nav program without completely closing out of the Nav program). I can't stand that text messages and sync'd emails and facebook messages are all lumped into one mass pile (Pre had separate text section sorted by threads), though each email has its own icon. The extensive customization is just not there. But it'll do. It'll do.

Looking Forward

I got my Pre in June of 2009. At the time, I was enamored with the design and hot off a Treo with a terrible Windows Mobile OS. As I mentioned, I loved my Pre. Based on my purchase date, I don't get the full benefit on an upgrade until June next year.

And I'm troubled.

I've been hot for the HTC Evo since I first glanced at it. It's damn hawt. And then when I was in the store today I saw - and touched - the Samsung Epic and I think I had to wipe the drool off my face with its slick interface and physical keyboard slide.

But there's a part of me that's scared to get a new touchscreen. Then again, I'd get the insurance on it and now know to double-down on the contact backups.

But that decision is a few months down the line and I'm guaranteed that I'll be even more conflicted in six months when even sweeter phones have come out.

Verdict

Palm Pre was great, but I probably won't go Palm again. I will ALWAYS get the insurance and ALWAYS back up my contact data in as many ways as possible. Until then, I'm rocking the Blackberry. And that's okay.

Hopefully you can take something away from this tech silliness. As always, comments and suggestions are welcome.

Restarting the Flow

2010-11-29T13:54:00.000-08:00

Sometimes life interrupts.

And that's not an excuse. Life always interrupts. But people who try to blog on a regular basis, try to keep their social networks going, sometimes falter. That's me right now.

It usually comes out as "Oh, the holidays!" or "we had a death in the family" or "business got too busy" or "everyone in the house is sick" or they're lazy or tired or depressed or "there just wasn't time." Please, don't think I'm criticizing anyone but myself. Count me in on all of them.

How do you fix it?

You get back on the bus; you restart the flow, and you keep that flow going.

My best advice?

Plan well. Set your week's blogging subjects on Sunday or Monday. Even all you do is create a blog and give it a title and save it for later, you've already got your week primed for a quick interjection.

Set a schedule like it's part of your job. If you are even remotely related to social marketing, it is. "I'll blog at 10am every day." If you can pin down a time, you have no other thing to be doing. Blog.

So go ahead and plan and set and we'll be seeing more of you and your business.

And you'll be seeing more of me.

That will be all :)

Inspiration: Rebirth

2010-10-12T19:17:00.000-07:00

I was out on my back deck this evening and noticed the tree in our neighbor's back yard had gone completely gold. Not yellowed out, not drained, but enriched with a fantastic and beautiful color that brought a boldness and majesty to the scene.

I know that that tree - and Autumn specifically - means that those leaves are dying and will eventually fall off (mostly in my yard) and eventually decay, but I was in awe of it for just a moment as I realized it was the hallmark of rebirth.

In order for you to have REbirth, there must first be a death. And perhaps this post will be reposted in Spring, but for now let's take a look at those leaves.

As a tree grows, as it passes from Spring to Summer, those leaves are its tools: they are the sole engines of photosynthesis that turn CO2 and sunlight into overall growth for the lifeform that is that tree. And that tree grows. This time of year, those tools wary and fall to the ground to be replaced in a few months in that cycle that never ends until the death of that tree.

We can take a lesson from that tree, both in business and in life.

We find life in our personal interactions, using the tools we have gained since childhood. We find business growth in the tools we have learned and fostered and those have helped us grow. But every once in a while, we need to purge.

So this Autumn, as you see the wonders of nature change into modes of color you could only imagine, take a look at your own tools, your own conventions. Drop them all and start a list: what worked for you this last year? What didn't? What do you need to change?

Discard those things that soured your growth, that stunted it. Pick up new tools and ideas and theories on sustenance. Start fostering your new ideas, take the ones that worked with a fresh insight, and GROW!

You can wait until Spring, but why put it off that long? After all, you're not a tree :)

Inspiration: Life!

2010-09-13T08:24:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I've been able to push some serious inspiration your way, and I was outside this weekend doing some yardwork and I just had to pause. Focused on mowing and stripping my deck and my tunnel vision on those aspects of "get it done," something told me to listen.

At first I heard the neighborhood: kids playing, laughing, cars moving, airplanes overhead. Then the insects and birds and squirrels: chirping, humming, running. And then the wind through the trees, blowing the leaves; in a way, they were speaking.

I opened my other senses and saw the squirrels and the clouds and the trees swaying in the breeze. I smelled barbeque on the grill, wood burning in someone's outside pit, the freshness of cut grass. And I wanted to touch it all.

It was a rare lesson - but more, a reminder - to keep it all open. And I never want to forget.

So if you're stuck in the box of a cube or your office all day, if you've got your eye on the prize of goal fulfillment: STOP.

All around you there is life. All around you, something else is happening. Take a moment to appreciate that wonder that exists all the time, that wonder we often block out because it's not the focus of our day or our task. Never forget that there is "awesome" all around us and we need only to pause to appreciate it, take it in, and see the magic of which we're all a part.

Take joy in life!

Videos for Monday: Star Wars, Catnip Tigers, Piggies

2010-08-16T09:06:00.000-07:00

This week, let's start it off with some videos. Little thinking, lots of smiling.

A couple years old, but classic.

I've always wondered this...

...and the last commercial that made me LOL:

Make it a great week!

Cincinnati Bell - Family & Technology FAIL

2010-08-03T13:07:00.000-07:00

My wife and I have a 14 year old daughter. With having a 14 year old daughter comes some of the complications implicit in raising a teenage girl. Namely: goofy boys. They're mind-boggled, silly, and still growing up. Yes, even I was one once.

And boys will be boys. Prank calls will be made. But there is a line. And this is where technology comes in and Cincinnati Bell falls flat on its face in the protection of families.

Origins

Since there have been phones there have been prank calls. I'd bet after the famous "Mr. Watson come here I want you," when Watson was settled back in the other room the second call was "Watson, is the refrigerator running?" (anachronism noted - I can't even do Prince Albert in the Can!). So on occasion, if we get a prank call with some boys goofing off, I don't pay much mind and just hang up.

But about 2 months ago, the calls - though still rare - started to become more malicious. They started edging towards the middle of the night. And knowing my daughter was not allowed to talk on the phone that late, became targeted at myself and my wife with specific reference towards our daughter. Last Saturday night / Sunday morning was the last straw. Someone called our home and when I told them our daughter could not speak, they proceeded to become - let's just say sexually explicit. It was not nice. And as the father of the 14 year old girl, I was not happy.

The Research

I called Cincinnati Bell on two different occasions because the simple fact is that despite the caller(s) using *67 to block their identity, there's a server somewhere with that phone number on it. And living in a small community with responsive parents, the easiest way to deal with the situation would be to get the phone number and have a parent-to-parent talk. Not happening.

Harassing phone calls are a crime as soon as they're made, so Cincinnati Bell's policy for harassing - and even life-threating - phone calls is as follows:

No prior harassing calls made can be tracked (read: looked up). Period. It is my responsibility to talk to the police and file an official police report. It is the police department's responsibility to contact Cincinnati Bell and request a tap on the phone. At that time, Cincinnati Bell will place a tap on my phone (read: press a button or click a checkbox) for 21 days. It is my responsibility, when the next harassing call comes through, to myself make a phone call to a special voicemail box to log the time of the call as well as keep a written record. At the end of that 21 days, they will remove the tap and forward the list of phone numbers to the investigating officer. And then it becomes a legal matter.

However, if the calls become more threatening or more graphic or more frequent, nothing still happens for those 3 weeks. If the pranking trolls don't call in those 3 weeks? Nothing. I'll have to wait for another harassing call, file another police report, rinse and repeat.

The Conclusion

This is both lazy and unacceptable on the part of Cincinnati Bell. It would be like if your house was robbed and you had the license plate of the getaway car and the police said "Here's our policy: I know you've been violated, so we're going to install a camera across the street. If they come back, leave us a voicemail so we can timecode the rough time of the crime, and after three weeks we'll take a look. If they don't come back in that window, nothing we can do. But we'll come back to put up that camera if they come back after that."

They have that number on file somewhere that can easily be referenced with knowing the time of the call(s). Once there is (reluctantly) police involvement, there should be no issue of digging backwards. Unfortunately for all of their customers, with Cincinnati Bell, an efficient method of family protection is not anywhere on their agenda.

So what are your thoughts? Should retrieval of a phone number be available to civilians? To police upon request? Is the 21-day tap reasonable? Is Cincinnati Bell protecting privacy or being lazy? What if it was your child?

Lots of issues here - can't wait to hear your thoughts!

Smile!

2010-08-02T08:15:00.000-07:00

A couple weeks ago I had the wonderful experience of seeing Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers with my wife from ten rows back at the Riverbend Arena. It was amazing.

But as I was standing there in awe of the sound and talent, of the music coming from the stage, I saw many, many people looking around and even straight at the stage with a blank or even guarded look on their faces.

And the only thing I thought was "Why aren't you smiling?"

I had a giant grin on my face from the moment we walked through the gates - and got to hang in the VIP area - to when we drove out of the parking lot. It was a stunning performance, even if they ran a little short of expectation.

And I wondered about those people who had things on their mind other than the experience, other than just focusing on the moment itself. And I felt bad for them.

So for your own sake and the sake of those around you, express yourself! If you're having a great time at a concert, smile. If you're having a good day, smile. If you're enjoying that sandwich: SMILE! You will not only brighten your own experience, but you'll pass it on. And what a gift that can be.

Inspiration: The Day TV Died

2010-07-26T19:14:00.000-07:00

Today my Sony 36" CRT, only 9 years old, bought the farm.

And at first I was sad. I was troubled.

But then I realized how much I would get done if that infernal box was not a part of my life.

At least for now (already looking at LCD HDTV).

But over the last few weeks, I've had some of the best conversations with my wife - some of the best in the 10 years we've known each other. And today there's no excuse to catch up on our DVR (just finished Flash Forward last night), but more of a direct excuse to head back out to the deck, to talk like real people and not like the TV-addled masses in this world.

Yes, we'll eventually pick up a new (non)tube, but for now, I'm thrilled. We'll eschew the tales of crime and fantasy and live in our own heads, on our own time.

So the TV died. Long live the TV! But not tonight. And maybe not for a week or two. Maybe it's time to live with quiet, live with just us.

I'm not saying "Kill your TV," but maybe a couple days out of the week it should just stay off. Turn your phone to vibrate. And talk to someone.

The FREE Way to Clean & Protect Your Computer

2010-07-14T21:39:00.000-07:00

I recently got an emergency email from a friend of mine saying her 9-year old daughter was having issues with some non-age-appropriate pop-ups. I was happy to help her, and it reminded me of those "Make Your Computer Faster" commercials where they'll "scan" your computer and then suggest you purchase their cleaning program.

You don't need to subscribe to a service or buy software to clean your system. You can do it youself - for free! Here's an overview.

The Problem

Every time you visit a website, every image you see on your screen is actually stored on your computer in a temporary file. It's referred to as a cache by the browser. When connection speeds were slower, this helped everyone: the browser checked if the referenced file was already living on your system and the server didn't have to download it and you saw web pages faster because the bigger graphics were already there.

But today, when speeds are much higher and good developers optimize graphics, it's not so much an issue. But the storage still happens. And with a higher rate of speed comes a higher rate of browsing - and much more sitting, stale, on your hard drive.

Along with graphics comes Cookies. A Cookie is when you go to website - say a weather website - and they put a little bit of information on your system. In this case, your zip code. So when you visit that weather website again, you don't have to enter your zip again; it reads it off the cookie and you see your town without ever thinking about it. Multiply that times a million.

The Danger

Whether it's a nasty bug or a full-on virus, if you are on the internet, your are vulnerable. Programs and clips of programs piggyback on everything you can possibly download. And it can shut down your system or act as a "zombie," waiting an activation code to attack anything from YouTube to a government computer, depending on what the writer intended.

Some viruses only exist to propagate and gum up the system. I actually had one of these 2 years ago and it not only slowed my system to a crawl, but crippled almost all my anti-virus and anti-malware programs, as well as shutting down the installation of new anti- programs.

So whether it's cleaning your system or killing viruses, here's what you need to do.

Your Browser

First off, everyone who is using Internet Explorer needs to be using Firefox. Go to their website and download it for free (will open in a new window - do it NOW). IE is more susceptible to these issues. Period.

Once Firefox is installed, go to Tools > Options > Privacy and make sure Clear History when Firefox Closes is checked. Click the Settings... button next to it and make sure it clears everything. Then, every time you close your browser, you're getting rid of junk.

The Shield

And here's where I tell you to download the cleaning software. Don't worry; it's all free (save 1 optional). And you don't need ALL of them. Try the first couple and if you still have issues, keep going. Click on the name to go to that site - all open in a different window.

CCleaner - cleans out the temporary files and cookies cached on your system. It scans your registry. You should run this at the end of every day.

Window Washer - This does what CCleaner does, but a little more thoroughly. It's my personal fav and the only program you would have to buy that I'm listing. It can erase data with an overwrite standard of the NSA. I like it; you don't have to buy it. CCleaner does what 99% of you need to do.

Malwarebytes - scans for some of the more dangerous items, called "malware" that can be part of downloads and might be programmed to do your computer some damage. If your computer has them, it'll root them out.

Ad-Aware - Classic standby to keep the pop-ups at bay. This hits the cookies as well, but tends to be best to root out the bad stuff you might pick up by clicking (or even viewing) advertising.

A-Squared - This is the program that saved my computer. Granted, it was because the virus's database did not include that program as a Stop, but it's especially good at rooting out trojan horse viruses. And killing them dead.

HijackThis - This program will run a scan on your whole running system if you have a problem. The only issue I have posting it is it's not DIY for amateurs. You'll have to go to the website forum, post the result, and get an answer. Granted, the folks there are awesome and responsive. Just wanted to alert anyone to the extra step (especially if they're dealing with a dead internet connection).

That Virus Thing

You should also have ONE anti-virus program running (multiples can cancel each other out or even fight for dominance). These run all the time and check out incoming items as they're saved or opened. The best free I've found - and both are excellent - have been:

AVG

Avira AntiVir

Now go get those programs and clean up your stuff! If you've had your computer for more than 4 months, you should probably also Defragment your hard drive, but that's a completely different post.

Be with you soon about that.

As always, comments welcome, especially from anyone who has different/better programs to pass on to my readers. Much appreciated!

Twitter Headlines: Library of Congress, Retirement, Divorce, iPhone

2010-06-30T15:11:00.000-07:00

I know this semi-regular Wednesday feature declares to report on Twitter Headlines, but the fact is that I don't care that Justin Bieber and Lindsay Lohan show up in my search every week. No. More. Attention. Go talk to Perez Hilton if you're that interested in their shenanigans or that it's news that there is a lack of shenanigans. Granted, if they showed up in the same article...

Tweeting for Posterity

This is a very interesting article about the collection and analysis of Tweets, noting that in April the Library of Congress announced that it will be obtaining the entire archive of Twitter which, as of now, is already 5 terabytes in <= 140-character slices. What an odd slice of human history / culture / eccentricity. I can't wait to see what the culture crunchers have to say in a couple decades.

Retirement!

While I'm reticent to post any vapid celebrity Twitter information, two huge legends of sports and media have decided to announce their retirement through Twitter: Lance Armstrong and Larry King.

Divorce Court

Looks like the lawyers are getting in on the social media scouring we're all starting to get accustomed to. In divorce cases, social media sites like Twitter and Facebook and MySpace (jk - no one uses MySpace anymore) are being used as evidence of intent, flirting, and any other behavior that would be relevant in divorce proceedings. But in a world where prospective and current employers and higher education institutions treat a social media search as common as a background or credit check, can anyone say they're surprised by anything except that it took this long?

iPhone

It appears that 1) iPhone 4 has some problems and 2) there's a fake Steve Jobs Tweeting about a recall. In other news: I'm writing a blog post and the sun will rise tomorrow morning a little later than it did today.

Technology & Politics: Ur Doin it Wrong

2010-06-30T06:36:00.000-07:00

In the past few years, and specifically the past few months, technology and those with public voices have not merged quite as well as some of us who work in tech think they should.

The Recent Past

Let's hit a couple popular examples of what we're talking about:

Series of Tubes

Classic, Senator Ted Stevens of AK:

(this was an official argument against Net Neutrality)

Internets

The origin of a meme in how politicians understand tech:

Net Neutrality

Aside from the above joy from Sen. Stevens, we've got more on Net Neutrality. In the last few months the American public has been bombarded by radio talk show hosts that have horribly mishandled the reality of the situation. I keep this blog away from politics as often as possible, but when people are not only misinformed but blatantly lying about how technology affects our lives, I get a little fired up (equal opportunity coming 2 sections down).

For the record, Net Neutrality is what we have. Now. Net Neutrality means that as a user, no matter what ISP you're using, internet access to websites - all websites - is equal. As fast as Google or Ebay or YouTube can send, you can receive (as long as you're not - God forbid! - still using dial-up).

But Telecom companies are trying to push the end of Net Neutrality. What if, for instance, Time Warner Cable changed its policy? What if they said "We're purposefully reducing the speed of all internet data transmission by 25%. BUT, if your company wants to write us a big, fat check, we'll let your traffic come through unimpeded."

So Net Neutrality exists now, Telecom companies want it to go away so they can make more money, and somehow it's being twisted into what I've heard on certain talk radio stations: "Net neutrality is going to be passed in Congress to limit your access to websites and control what you see on the internet." And that's not just getting confused or not understanding; it is a deliberately misleading LIE.

Here's a quick video primer on Net Neutrality:

Net Neutrality is a great example of how people are not just misunderstanding technology, but they're misrepresenting technology to those who haven't had the education or haven't done the research. Again: stating that Net Neutrality is a control mechanism is a LIE. The lack of control is the definition of the "neutrality."

Limbaugh on Adwords

You may have seen my post last month on how Rush Limbaugh was twisting the story of Goldmann Sachs and saying that they were controlling Google by purchasing ads on the words.

This is BS. And as an example of concept, I spent a couple hundred dollars purchasing those words to point to that blog post. And my ads were #1 most of the time.

Google Adwords is a very sophisticated system of bidding on keywords or phrases that are linked to ads you create. Anyone with a credit card can choose words, create ads, and have your ad show up at the top of the sponsored results. It does not mean that someone is "buying Google."

Olbermann on Adwords BP

To keep it even in the political spectrum, Keith Olbermann jumped on the same absurd train as Rush Limbaugh to make the claim a couple weeks ago that BP was purchasing the Google search engine.

No, Keith. They are buying Adwords. And anyone can do it. Check out my note above or hire someone who knows something about social media.

And an even worse betrayal of technology on that segment of Olbermann's Countdown was one of his interviewees stating that when they searched for "oil spill," they saw a bunch of stuff on BP. That man said "BP has purchased the algorithm of Google."

I'll allow a minute for you to stare dumbfounded or stop laughing hysterically.

BP is on top of organic searches because they've had years and years to build up relevant content about oil. Simple as that. The Google algorithm is more well protected than the recipe for Coca-Cola or Bush's Baked Beans (argh, save that two-timing talking dog...). Selling "the algorighm of Google" would be akin to selling your own child into slavery. And it's absurd to even suggest such a thing. And if it would ever occur to Google to betray the trust of its dedicated users and fans and "help" someone out, it wouldn't be a pollution-tainted, multi-billion dollar, non-sustainable-energy corporation.

Finally Starbucks is doing Wifi Free

I heard this in passing on a financial radio show last week. The implication was that you always had to pay for Wifi at Starbucks. Actually, if you have one of their rechargeable cards, register it, and have used it in the last 30 days, you get 2 free hours of Wifi every single day.

It wasn't a completely inaccurate statement; you do have to make a purchase in the last 30 days to get the wifi free. However, the inherent ignorance of the statement paired with the speaker's snide commentary made him sound like an uninformed tool. Which, at that moment, he was.

In today's 24-hour media cycle, there are an unfortunate abundance of people who are willing to speak on things that they - and their researchers - know nothing about, especially as it pertains to technology. And they sound silly at best, stupid at most, and lying at worst.

My advice: Hire someone who has a clue; otherwise, you're undermining your own positions. And there are many of us watching. And we will call you out.

MONDAY Videos: Hat Cat, YMCA Classic, Gandalf, Snowboard WIN

2010-06-28T04:55:00.000-07:00

Missed the post on Friday, so what better way to start out the week than with those interesting videos?

Kitty + Hat + Cat = Hilarity!

YMCA: Christophers

This one's a few years old, but good all the same.

Gandalf Goes to the World Cup!

And a WIN!

I know we usually focus on FAILs, but this is just too cool.

Have a great week!

Generations & Internets: Collapsing Standards or Just Change?

2010-06-24T16:58:00.000-07:00

When I was growing up on usenets and dial-in BBS's, yes there was the birth of the troll, but there was a higher standard of communication. You treated your messages as you might treat a written letter. Now? Not so much. I'm barely into my 30's and I'm feeling what every person before me has felt: the degradation of communication, the irascibility of the younger generation.

For example, take the now-high-ended ideal that someone might spell words correctly in a proper email. Then degrade it with txt-msg'ng language, reduce it to a Facebook pseudo-meme liek [sic] "On 11:11:11 on 11/11/11 I'm going to make the most monumental wish evar" as one of the 500 trite pseudo-groups you now "like" and post the following jpeg I found in my daughter's feed:

Teaching children to use Photoshop without teaching them art is like teaching someone to fire a rifle without referencing the basics of morality.

You can quote me on that.

(For reference, many "art" classes in schools are now completely computer-based and grammar is not a great focus.)

So how does this saga end? Do we hope that high school and college education (along with our involvement) can properly educate our children - despite social norms - and teach them to maintain standards of communication? Or are we doomed to the fate of Idiocracy?

ikr

Any thoughts/feedback would be appreciated.

Twitter Wednesday: Deplorable!

2010-06-23T15:53:00.000-07:00

I was all ready to get back to an old tradition of mine of picking the web headlines clean of Twitter-related headlines and reporting openly to you - and then I saw what was out there. Boo!

My duty is to report, but I'm not even pushing links here the information is so nonsensical and trivial. Really, you're better off - and probably smarter - for NOT having read what is to follow. Okay. Here we go...

Lindsay Lohan has been taking a little time off personally collapsing her celebrity status and found out that she still has some Twitter star power. So she's got that goin' for her. Amanda Bynes announced her 24-year old retirement on Twitter. There's a thin line between barely having acting gigs in the last decade and retirement. It's called unemployment. Russian president Dmitry Medvedev joined Twitter. Huh? Rep. "I'm sorry BP" Joe Barton has a Twitter account. And after apologizing to BP and unapologizing for the apology on Twitter, apparently there was a retraction of the unapology post. Politicians are so good at the technologies (see my upcoming post). Oh, and Kim Kardashian Tweeted "Ewww" about a woman breastfeeding next to her. [Insert vapid celebrity plastic surgery joke here.] And...item! Heidi Montag Accuses Spencer Pratt of Being a Famewhore. Yeah...uh, who? And unsurprisingly, news like the World Cup and that earthquake in Canada that we didn't really quite feel here in Cincinnati is still being disseminated via Twitter.

I warned you that it was mind-numbing. "Huh? What was I reading?" you reply.

Candid: The Loki Keyboard that Bit Me

2010-06-22T17:00:00.000-07:00

In Norse Mythology, Loki is the troublemaker, the gadfly, the instigator (in case you needed that reference).

And in day to day reality, I am a fallible tech geek. Some folks who blog - especially those that have a business - hold themselves at a must-be-godlike standard. I understand, however, that occasionally exposing my flaws makes me more human, and we can all do with a little more human in our day to day interactions. It doesn't happen often, so enjoy the story:

Ghost in the Machine

About a month ago, I noticed that I was having some keyboard issues on my workhorse laptop. Specifically, on occasion, when I was trying to do anything from advance between the regular cavalcade of almost a dozen working applications to simply keeping a cursor in a web form, it wasn't working. Things were popping up or shifting fields as though there was a sticking problem in either my ALT or CTRL or TAB keys - or all three.

I would do anything from reboot to pound on the ALT key to scream and invoke Thor to take down this Loki in the machine. (Hey, when you're hand-coding and can't get a "<" out to start an anchor tag, things get a little crazy in the room.) I once did a Trojan scour, found one and thought it was all good - for about 30 minutes. And sometimes it worked, sometimes it faded for a time, sometimes it sent me to the Xbox360 demo of Bayonetta to do some virtual killing of demons with gun-shoes.

Yes, this has been going on for a month. I'd done some rudimentary searches for MS bugs on Vista, but only came up with a few minor operational errors that appeared rare. Bad thing was, when I was hard-up for a solution, I couldn't do a decent search because my keyboard didn't work.

Threshold | Epiphany

And this morning it hit a threshold: waking after a restless night, not yet enough coffee in me, the bug came at me with the first touch of the keyboard. I could send an email with the mouse, but couldn't type the contents; the pressing of buttons resulted in the on/of switch that is CTRL+Space, which takes my English letter combinations and translates them into a selectable tooltip for Asian characters. Basically, I could get absolutely nothing done.

I got another cup of coffee, took a few deep breaths, and - suddenly - it struck me. Not any more monumental than any other epiphany as I was holding back hope for disappointment, but there it was:

Redemption

With my graphics background on a Quantel Paintbox (pen & board), I have much greater preference for a mouse over the horrible touchpad that is on most laptops. About 6 months ago, I clicked-out my first, wired mouse and switched to a wireless Microsoft one I had previously purchased for my wife. It was a simple setup of a USB plug-in to a wireless receiver to accept input from the mouse ...and paired keyboard.

So, what if...? I went to the storage closet about 20 feet behind my desk, opened it up, and found said keyboard - sitting underneath a box of paperwork. I moved the keyboard to a higher shelf with nothing on top of it.

Guess what? No boxy, no pressy, no Loki.

Without pressure on what I thought was a do-nothing keyboard, the problem stopped: I'd been fighting with a keyboard in the closet with a box on it that was resting on the TAB, SHIFT, CTRL, ALT, and Space keys.

So what's the lesson here? Humanity, by definition, is fallible. Tech-savvy people, by definition, are fallible. And no matter how perplexing and unresolvable the problem you face, you may be surprised by the simplicity of the solution. Just pick up the box that's weighing you down.

Some Inspiration From LOST: Define Yourself!

2010-06-21T12:57:00.000-07:00

(No, no spoilers folks)

It's been a few weeks since the finale of LOST and I'm still stewing in the philosophical and metaphysical implications of how it all ended, but something came to me today about the overall character plot of the show that gave me inspiration to write this post.

As the plot went, a plane crashes and the survivors of that mess must survive on a mysterious island. For 6 years, we're shepherded (no pun intended) through the lives of these characters. And one of the more subtle themes that emerges is that many of these characters have allowed others and their surroundings in the "normal" world to define them; they have not worked to write that script themselves.

This goes for politics to branding to you and me in our personal lives: Are you writing the story of your life or are you letting everyone else do it as you passively float through? Are you driving your own bus?

If you are, chances are some focus and push and you could be doing it more efficiently. If you're not? Well, get on the stick! It only takes a little introspection to see who's in charge here. Take that charge. Take it seriously. Define yourself!

And if you've got a brand you want to control then work on that too - write that story too. But step one is self. Just like you can't truly love others without loving yourself, you will have little luck putting a business in order if your house is a mess.

Now get out there and have a great week!

Friday Videos: Pakistani Grover, Butter Jesus, Church Biker Fail

2010-06-18T09:46:00.000-07:00

Pakistani Grover

This is amazing and worth every second.

"An incredible mash-up from Pakistan. Grover and friends do some shaking to a 'Sufiyan English' song from a 1970s Pakistani film."
h/t to BoingBoing

Big Butter Jesus

And if you've been at all conscious this week and live around Cincinnati (or caught it on various national news programs), Touchdown Jesus, a.k.a. Big Butter Jesus went up in flames when it was struck by lightning Monday evening. Here's Haywood Banks' classic to some video:

Church Biker Fail

And since I know and you know you're here for a decent FAIL, let's keep with the religious theme and give you the church biker:

Have a great weekend!

Graphic FAIL: Tara Medium

2010-06-17T17:17:00.000-07:00

Had this image hanging around in my drafts. Unfortunate in that the glimmer makes the "a" read as a "d."

Friday Videos: McDonald's Old Style, Hockey Guys, Pool Jump FAIL

2010-06-04T17:43:00.000-07:00

4-year Old McDonald's Burger

I watched Super Size Me and it did not do what this video did for me. I will NEVER touch McDonald's (or much other fast food) ever again. Evar.

Hockey, Guys!

I feel kinda bad for this guy, guys. Guys?

...of course that's not as bad as the legendary Boom Goes The Dynamite!

Pool Jump

And since you're actually here for a serious FAIL, here you go:

Have a great weekend!

Tech Love: WISE, Cursed Phone#, Cyborg, HTC Evo

2010-05-27T13:34:00.000-07:00

WISE

What's wise? NASA's new Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer. And what's id doing? Already taking images like this:

They call that the Heart and Soul Nebulae.

Cursed Phone Number?

Bulgaria - no one will be issued the cell phone number 0888 888 888. Why? The last 3 people who had that number have died under suspicious circumstances.

Also noted: bad business, mob boss, and coke dealer might have had something to do with those deaths. Spooky?

Infected Wit teh Tech

After having the brilliant idea that he needed to implant an RFID microchip in his hand, Dr. Mark Gasson thought it would be interesting if he purposefully infected that chip with a malicious virus.

He says he apologizes in advance should this result in the simultaneous creation of a true biomechanical and the rise of the machines as our new masters. He also claims "safe" as their Adam.

HTC EVO!

I'm kind of a tech whore. In articles and blogs, we call ourselves early-adopters. There's an art to it, measurement of risk, etc. that lets many jump on the newest iPhone while still running Windows XP at home.

You'll remember me about a year ago fawning over and reveling in the release date capture of my Palm Pre. And not 12 months later, the joints are a little loose, I've gained a small crack, and, well, since I saw this one thing...our relationship hasn't been the same.

What I saw was the HTC EVO.

Android-running, 4.3 inch touchscreen, streams HD video on the new 4G network, dual cameras (8MP back, 1.3 front-facing), 1GB Snapdragon processor.

Nom, nom, nom.

I've got about a 20% chance of getting one soon. Sprint's "eligible upgrade" time period is 2 years, not one, so I'd pay a mint for the phone. But I will continue to drool. And hope.

Sidenote: Palm's guru Matias Duarte has moved to Google.

Videos: Awesome Chemistry, Pacman, Wedding FAIL

2010-05-21T15:02:00.001-07:00

The Awesome of Chemistry

Science!

Pacman Ghosts Discuss TV

...and because it's just not Friday without some FAIL,

Wedding Photo FAIL

Have a great weekend!

Gink! Way Better Social Media!

2010-05-14T19:41:00.000-07:00

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

Inspiration: Try Something New!

2010-05-13T15:09:00.001-07:00

I wasn't here Monday, so here's your weekly inspiration, completely planted into my head by my recent trip to Los Angeles!

Sometimes, working as most of us do on a day-to-day basis and getting so into what we're doing, we whittle ourselves down into our specialty, we unconsciously have installed blinders to everything except what we're doing right now. We get tunnel vision.

And anyone who's experienced that phenomenon knows the reality of monotony. And monotony is living in a rut. It is drab, slow, and joyless. And who wants to lose the joy in their work, in their life?

(Note: If you're not finding some joy in what you do every day, stop now. Walk out the door. Then DO SOMETHING ELSE!)

So there's the problem: drab, slow, joyless. How exactly do you get away from that? Easy! Do something new.

Now I'm not saying you need to take off to LA for 5 days or even one day, but that's why vacations are so important to the vacationer: you get a breath of fresh air, do something new or different and come back with fresh eyes, a reinvigorated spirit. (European employers genuinely trust the productivity increase which is why you'd start there with 4 to 6 weeks of paid vacation per year. Yum!)

So you don't have the vacation time. So what? You can still do something different! Go for a walk after dinner. Spend your lunch hour in the park. Try writing a short story. Get out that To Do list and actually DO something on it instead of whining about how old some of those goals are. And if you've got a little over a hundred bucks, nerves of steel, and a Saturday afternoon, go skydiving. Seriously. It will change your life.

But all of these suggestions are for one reason: expanding your horizons. By doing something new or different, by changing your patterns, you change the physical chemistry of your brain - you actually alter how it works. So when it is time to go back to the daily grind, you will see it differently, gain new perspective on the day-to-day.

And if not? At least you've got the next new thing to look forward to.

Make it a great weekend!

Los Angeles, I'm Yours

2010-05-11T16:26:00.000-07:00

As many of you know from my Twitter/Facebook updates, I spent the last several days in Los Angeles to visit my brother. This is a random listing of some of the things we did and some of the thoughts I had.

Please note: this is by no means a comprehensive compendium of what LA is actually like as a whole. I spent most of my time in Hollywood and Burbank and only 5 days at that.

Normal, Just Big

Growing up in the Midwest, you get this iconic, fabled view of what Los Angeles and Hollywood actually are from movies and teevee and popular songs. Which proved surprising when everything was so normal. Sunset. La Brea. Santa Monica. Busy, stacked with restaurants, stores, bars, but pretty normal ones. We didn't walk into any place I didn't feel comfortable

Population Makeup

Again, from news and television, I guess I expected a much larger Hispanic population, but in Hollywood - while that existed - there was also a noticeable Asian and Armenian population. Even a "Little Ethiopia." And it all makes for a fantastic selection of little restaurants and a very diverse culture.

As far as the idea of "pretty people everywhere," you can knock that to the curb. The population appears to have a much larger percentage of fit people, but if you match the overweight with the unhealthily gaunt, I think the averages weigh out.

Traffic

Terrifying. I spent some time driving in Boston, some time driving in Dublin (Ireland), and this beats all. The traffic here can be best described as erratic and random with punctuations of straight up danger. Constant lane-changing almost into your car, motorcycles swerving between larger vehicles. Basically, if you're not "on" you're going to get into an accident.

Much love to my brother Adam for taking the helm for my entire visit.

Jay Leno

A great co-worker of Adam pulled us some Leno tickets. After going to Guest Relations, were were pooled with some 20 other people and we walked through the back lots to Studio 11 where we turned the corner and ...hundreds of people were waiting 2 and 3 deep on the right and left. And we walked past them all. It was exciting and elating and I had the biggest grin on my face.

We entered the studio audience ahead of everyone and it appeared we were getting sweet front row seats in fixed-seat house (yeah!), then a coordinator pointed to us and said "you two, come with me." He ushered us out on the floor house left and pulled tape off a couple seats to plant us in row 2. On the floor. Of Leno. Waaahaa!?

My brother in blue, me: to his left

It aired Friday, May 7th, and you can still see it on NBC.com as well as Adam's other screenshots on Facebook here.

Don Cheadle, Erin Andrews guests, George Takei showed up to say "panties," amongst other words, and Landon Pigg & Lucy Schwartz performed. All-round, a great show.

Celebrity Sighting

On Sunday, we headed over to Hollywood's Happy Ending bar on Sunset (an excellent sports bar in its own right) for some Cavs :( and grub. Amazing food, great staff, great clientele.

As a matter of fact, Neal McDonough stopped in to root for the Celtics against the Cavs.

You may know him from Desperate Housewives or Minority Report. I loved him in SyFy's "Tin Man" and he was also in an old episode of Quantum Leap, Angels in the Outfield, and Band of Brothers.

But he was just another guy in a bar watching the game. And that was cool.

Business Expansion Potential

I don't want to generalize or pine romantic about Los Angeles, but as a web developer, the problems I've seen there for production companies and restaurants are pretty much the same as here:

Sites built entirely in Flash; this is still not a viable option, especially if you expect someone to pick it up with a smartphone.
Remnants of a site built several years ago that has used duct tape to keep it up with minor updates.
A website composed by a cousin who had this class this one time and looks like 1995 (read: cheesy animated gifs)

Yes, these sites exist, even in LA. Which is sad and disappointing, but a fantastic opportunity, especially for the markup potential in what the market will actually support.

Ending Notes

I'd like to thank my parents. Really. My dad was a local celebrity on Cleveland television and my father always said: "I'm just a regular guy; I'm just on TV." And that helped ground us growing up and I don't think any one of us four kids ever got big-headed or name-dropped for any reason. It was just Dad. And seeing celebrities in Los Angeles it's the same thing: they're normal people, just with a job on TV or in movies.

I can't wait to go back. As I said before, it's not demonstrative, but you can see what I did while I was there through Foursquare and check out my pictures on my Facebook profile.

I leave you with The Decemberists. Yes, Los Angeles, I'm yours.

Cheers!

Unfortunate Facebook

2010-05-11T15:48:00.000-07:00

Juxtaposition can sometimes have unfortunate consequences. This appeared as a Facebook update in my feed. Blurring to protect the innocent.

Demonstrable Generally Works Better

2010-05-02T20:42:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I find myself just being me and think it's a good idea to lay it out to let my readers get a little insight into who I am.

It's 11:30pm. I'm watching "How the Universe Works" (Black Hole episode), beginning a book to bone up on my PHP ninja coding skills, and drinking a Miller Lite. (and pausing in the midst of it all to blog)

Is that too much? Or refreshing?

Cheers!

MSNBC.com's Unfortunate Juxtaposition

2010-04-27T18:18:00.000-07:00

I'll let the graphic I pulled from the site today speak for itself:

FAIL.

Google, Rush...What Happened Last Tuesday?

2010-04-27T02:56:00.000-07:00

I've received emails and phone calls and it seems the question that keeps coming up is: what the heck was that?

That is, in reference to my post on Rush Limbaugh, Google Adwords, and Goldman Sachs. And if you haven't had the pleasure, click that link!

The Setup

A friend of mine called me and said "Turn on Rush. He's talking smack about Google or something." And low and behold - as explained in my post - he was. The unfortunate thing about mixing politics and technology is when one is relatively well-versed in one, they are generally deficient in the other. Case in point: Rush's implication was that links and placement were being purchased and there might even be an outright collaboration between Google and the White House.

The truth was simple enough: White House PR was buying Adwords phrases. Just like anyone else can do.

The Plan

Shameless promotion and exploitation. Something Rush said stuck with me: "If you type 'goldman sachs sec' into Google...'"

Rush Limbaugh has millions of listeners across the country and his show is syndicated and paced through every time zone so I can pretty much guarantee those words are going to be spoken every hour between 1pm EST and 3am PST.

A quick search (as Rush told me to do) displayed 2 ads: The White House ad and one more saying "Not just the Obama's Ad." In other words: Open field.

The Moderation

Step 1: Provide something that is both intelligible and educational. That was easy. A basic tutorial on what are paid ads and what are not with reference to the ease of creating an ad campaign is exactly what I was aiming for.

Step 2: Do not turn it political. That was a little more difficult. I have no problem staying away from the Goldman Sachs topic in the posting, but I have a solid peeve spot for people with very large audiences opening their mouths about things they know little or nothing about and making things up that support their end of an argument. And I knew if I directly attacked Rush Limbaugh for doing so, I'd be shifting from business to politics. I believe I succeeded.

The Numbers

I ran the ad nationwide from Tuesday at about 2 to 10pm. Then switched the geographical focus to Ohio only and Wednesday morning knocked it down to Greater Cincinnati.

As of this posting, in a little over 48 hours, I have over 7,500 impressions with over 760 clicks, pulling a CTR of a little more than 10%. Average CPC was $0.41, landing me at a little over $300 for this experiment.

Was it worth it?

Short answer is: if one of the 4 leads I now have pans out, then yes. If not, I've hopefully educated some people who may not have known how Adwords work, and for me the education of someone that prevents a later misunderstanding is worth every penny. Ounce of prevention and all that.

Wonder and Woe and Humility

2010-04-26T10:07:00.000-07:00

After our universe began, it took 385,000 years before the basest of molecules were formed because what we call matter outnumbered anti-matter by one in a billion.

9,000,000,000 years later, our planet Earth was formed.

4,500,000,000 years after that, it's now.

Molecules forming, suns exploding, every piece of you now is a result of cataclysmic events. Every piece of you is more or less from a star.

From the beginning of the universe, energy has turned into matter, matter to energy, to make you and the world around you. Billions of years to form your world, hundreds of millions of years of life transforming for you to read this right now.

So what are you doing today?

Wednesday Twitter: I'm Sorry: Hollywood n Drama

2010-04-21T14:45:00.000-07:00

I scraped and plodded and searched but it looks like all the Twitter stuff this week is, well, crap. So let's just get this over with. Friday the 13th remake sequel dead in the water via Twitter, Lindsay Lohan tweeted some overly-dramatic whining about her dad and cops, Ooh, live tweet with the cast of Eclipse, and OMG Perez Hilton and Spencer Pratt start a Twitter war!

Please flush the toilet on the way out.

The Dynamic, Spooky Truth of Google

2010-04-20T13:04:00.000-07:00

Spotted in this month's Wired (18.05):

Found, Then Lost

In his article about Google ("Inside the Box," issue 18.03), Steven Levy used the phrase "mike siwek lawyer mi" as an example of a search that showed Google's power and effectiveness - how easy it is to find an individual lawyer in Michigan! But since the article was published and blogged about, those links crowd out Mr. Siwek, and his Web site no longer appears in Google's top search results. So very ironic.

And that me blogging about the letter discussing the blogging that changed the dynamic will also have an effect? Downright spooky.

Reminds me of that time I took over Jaguar Grooming in Cincinnati, Ohio...

Google, Rush Limbaugh, Goldman Sachs

2010-04-20T10:45:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine alerted me to Rush Limbaugh's show today where he was talking about Goldman Sachs and how if you typed "goldman sachs sec" you'd get Barack Obama's website. But the language Rush was using was a little troubling. He said "Google takes you there" and that President Obama (or, realistically, his PR folks) was buying links and making a strong insinuation that Google's search results were being influenced by the White House.

And as soon as I got back to the office, I realized the mundane truth: The President's PR force, in light of a drive towards financial reform, had bid on the phrase in an Adwords campaign. Just like anyone can do.

As a matter of fact, I just began a campaign myself for "goldman sachs sec" that you can see as well if you type those words into Google. Just to show you how easy it is - and take advantage of a happenstance spike.

[UPDATE: Either the unwanted attention from radio or an exhausted budget have caused the "Organizing for America" Ads to disappear.]

[UPDATE2: The ad is still there (just saw it), I believe cycling now that other folks have gotten in on the phrases.]

Search Engine Ads 101

For those of you who may not be aware, when you search for something in one of the main search engines like Google, Yahoo, or Bing, you actually get two types of results: organic and paid. Here's a screenshot from a search of "goldman sachs sec"

Now, pay close attention to the areas highlighted in red:

Those areas - the top and the right - are labeled "Sponsored Links." Those are Google Adwords or paid ads. Anyone can open an Adwords account, choose phrases, and pay for people to click on their ads. Mine are already running and leading back to this post. This is just how search engines work today.

The rest of the links on the page, the place where most people are drawn, are the news and video, etc. that are also listed. Those are organic listings.

In Closing

Unfortunately many people do not know how search results work (hopefully this helped for some) and even less will check the validity of the claims for themselves. The truth is not nefarious nor malicious nor collusive; it's actually a pretty clear case of Capitalism in action. Heck: even I got on board.

That Little Voice Inside Your Head

2010-04-19T18:22:00.000-07:00

Everyone has one (or two or three...). It's that little voice inside your head. If you don't pay attention to it, know that you're not driving. Either way, know that you have control over it.

Generally, the Voice represents your inner-most psyche, and it can take many forms.

In a professional environment, the Voice can tell a writer "no, that's not the right word" or "rewrite that last sentence" or "no one is going to read this!" It can tell an entrepreneur anything from "you're on the right track" to "stop trying - you're going to fail!"

Personally, you may hear "you're too fat" or "you can't do this" or "why are you even trying?" But you can hear "you're watching what you eat" or "you have the potential to succeed" or "work for it and win!"

Do you get it yet? The Voice is not some other-worldly being or force. It is you. And if you pay attention to it - yes, all the time - then you can catch it when it dumps anything negative on you. Because that's you questioning yourself. But more than questioning, it's self-defeating.

So today's message is: pay attention to what that inner Voice is saying. It is a part of you. You can manage the message. Not only "can" but "must." If you let a negative attitude run your inner Voice, you will fail. Simple as that. It will feed you nothing but poison and doubt.

And I'm not saying that the process of paying attention and fixing this is one fell swoop; you will notice first the message, the inner-doubt. Fixing it is like training for a marathon. There will be negative messages that come through, but you simply dismiss them with notice and override them with a conscious control: "It may take time, but I will succeed."

Notice your inner Voice, manage your inner Voice to encourage you and point to success and you will have nothing but. Let it go, and that may be the sole reason for failure.

Success! You own it. Take control of it.

You FTW!

Weekly Inspiration: Growth!

2010-04-12T03:13:00.000-07:00

It was inevitable. You're looking for inspiration and there it is right in front of you: Spring. Printemps as the French would say. (Sorry, listening to Rock Velours on Sirius right now.)

If you have to ask why Spring is inspirational, you have bigger problems than what I can address in a blog post.

But here is Spring in Cincinnati: green, growth, color, leaves on trees, the odors of the flowers, life!

Yes, life! Everywhere you look: life! Things that have been dormant for months are coming out, returning, energizing.

And in that is this week's lessons:

Business building: Whether you're new or been around for awhile, take advantage of the lesson of nature to grow. The tree knows it only has a few months to make the most of the new season; act like it, act like your only growth can happen now. Fire yourself up, energize yourself with the wonder outside your window! And get out there and get it done.
And if you're in business now and lagging behind and can't seem to find your place, the message is the same: DO IT! NOW! Nature and energy and growth is all around you; borrow that drive, see it and follow it. You have no excuse except...nothing. Do or do not. Now's your chance.

Spring is the best time of the year to build a business, to grow an existing business, to drive yourself to make it bigger and better, to rein in quantity over quality.

It's yours to use. You can succeed or fail any time of the year. But now's the time to take a good look around and shout to the heavens "Success!" and make it yours.

So make it yours.

Friday Videos: Tiger After Dentist, Old Spice, Trampoline + Pool FAIL

2010-04-09T14:38:00.000-07:00

Tiger After Dentist

I was going to post the original Tiger Nike commercial here, but after finding out the audio was pulled from a 2004 DVD and (unsurprisingly) that his father wasn't really addressing the problem at hand, I was left only with the fact that Nike sees more profit than liability in the long-term investment in Tiger, to the point that they will exploit a recording of his own dead father. Boo.

So how about a parody instead? The audio is pulled from the monstrously viral David After Dentist, and is oddly relevant.

Odor Blocker from Old Spice

Have you seen the new commercials? Me neither. But they're Awesome. I guess it's not a coincidence they're directed by Tim & Eric from the Tim & Eric Awesome Show. Awesome. Here's the channel, and here's a few examples. Did I say Awesome?

Flex

Punch

Pool Trampoline FAIL

Because it all comes down to the FAIL. But wait, you say. How can a pool and a trampoline possibly combine into a fail scenario? Allow me to show you...

Monday Motivation: Don't Forget the Wonder!

2010-03-29T17:10:00.000-07:00

This past weekend I was on the back porch watching our dog run around and in an adjoining yard heard some kids playing. One of them said "Hey, look at this!" and they crouched down, I'm guessing to look at a bug crawl around on the grass.

And I was beside myself.

Here I was, outside in some pretty nice weather, taking a break from some programming, my head swimming in code, and I suddenly realized that I wasn't paying attention to any of the things around me.

Prompted by the wonder of the children across the way, I looked around and saw the sky, the floating clouds, the trees, and heard the birds. And I was amazed at how alive I felt.

We so often focus so much on what is immediate, on what is "important" that we often forget that there is wonder and discovery as close as our own back yards. As close as walking outside to our cars. As close as now.

Your motivation this week? Step outside your home or office door and take a minute or two to appreciate the wonder of everything that surrounds you every day. It is alive; feel alive with it! Check the nuances of that tree, listen to the birds, and wonder at the sky, that odd miracle of atmosphere and color and clouds that exists way beyond our reach.

Share it with someone. Wonder is a gift we are given at birth and everyone still has it. Some just need to be reminded.

And if you're really into it, squat down and take a look at that bug. It's really pretty interesting. Just ask the kids.

Friday Youtube: Animal Power Moves, Shocked Kitty, Mortal Kombat

2010-03-26T15:15:00.000-07:00

Animal Power Moves!

Animal strength in one clever or gross or strange way or another.

The Shocked & Appalled Kitty

It's just shocked and appalled. Nothing more.

Oregon Trail vs. Mortal Kombat

Anyone who grew up with Oregon Trail in any capacity also grew up with MK. Exactly what it sounds like.

And that'll be it for this Friday. Have a great weekend!

Not-so-Useful Tech Gadget: Pasta n More

2010-03-25T14:40:00.000-07:00

Hey kids! It's Pasta N More, your microwave, no-muss, no-fuss pasta-cookin' machine!

We got one as a gift a while back and just opened it yesterday.

But only if you've got the time. I don't know about you, but I can have a pot of water boiling in about 10 minutes or less (salt it, cover it, set on high) and pasta will cook in about 5-7 minutes. That's on the stove. In a pot of water.

Looking at the instructions of Pasta N More, I find it strange that towards the higher end of servings, the time to pop the pasta in the microwave is equal to or greater than 18 minutes, my estimated stove time. Actually, all the way up to 27 minutes for some pastas!

Isn't the microwave built for convenience? This seems like the opposite of that.

Second problem: You're going to get not-so-great pasta. Why? Cooking 8 servings of pasta only calls for 4 cups of water. 4 cups? Alton Brown would smack you silly! That's not nearly enough for all the starches to properly release, to give the pasta that swimmy goodness that it loves, that water breathing room!

So, in summary, stay away from Pasta N More. You're going to get poorer quality pasta in a longer cooking time than just tossing a pot on the stove.

Twitter Headlines: Obama, Palin Accounts, Credit, and Sharia Law

2010-03-24T14:12:00.000-07:00

Usually I'm scraping the bottom of the barrel of Twitter headlines after picking out the super-celeb and sports stories about someone famous tweeting something their manager or coach disapproves of, but this week is rife with tasty tidbits!

Obama Hacker says "Excusez-moi!"

A 25-year old French man has been apprehended as a hacker who got into Barack Obama's Twitter account. Great: another reason for Americans to baselessly hate refined wine and delicious cheeses. Of course, all the blame doesn't go to the man himself; when your password is "pelosi" it's not rocket science to hack.

Palin Takes Aim

Sarah Palin's healthcare tweet:

Commonsense Conservatives & lovers of America: "Don’t Retreat Instead – RELOAD!" Pls see my Facebook page.

Oopsie! I get it. I understand the figurative language. Unfortunately, I suspect it will take less than 2 weeks for someone somewhere to take that literally and act upon it. When you're famous, social media also contains an aspect of responsibility.

(Note: She's also getting a show on Discovery)

Social Media & Your Credit?

Seriously, are we shocked by this? Years ago, I had a credit card company I'd been with for years run a credit check and - without notice - raised my rate by over 10% because they didn't like my debt-to-income ratio. Colleges and employers readily use social media checks as often as they do background checks. And now companies are checking out Twitter and Facebook for excuses to increase rates or deny you credit? I've got 3 words for you:

Amputation Chatter Cut Off in Nigeria

A Nigerian court has ordered no more chatting about a guy who was punished with amputation for stealing a cow.

An order is hereby given restraining the respondents either by themselves or their agents from opening a chat forum on Facebook, Twitter, or any blog for the purpose of the debate on the amputation of Malam Buba Bello Jangebe.

Bwa-ha-ha! A chat forum on Twitter. They must be really good at the internets.

Slightly more disturbing:

You would think that social media sites are not particularly popular with Sharia Law proponents. Wrong. After a British guy ended his marriage on Facebook last year, a couple of Sharia lawyers claimed that, rather like SMS, divorce on Facebook or Twitter would be acceptable.

Wha-what?

Not that I agree with it, but as opposed to our own courts, it's interesting to see that Sharia law has someone paying attention to emerging technology and social media.

That's it this week. Cheers!

How Foursquare Changed My Brain

2010-03-23T05:25:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I attended a fantastic Second Saturday with New Media Cincinnati. The panel included D.G. who touted the wonders of Foursquare, elucidating about the ability of it to take social media and turn it around and foster real-world relationships.

Hey! That's what I talk about all the time!

So I had to jump on - finally. I downloaded the app for the Pre right then and there and as soon as I got home, I set up an account and started digging in.

And then my perception changed in an interesting way.

When I was in college, I worked for a few years in television production and the result of that was a change in how I saw news fonts and graphics on air. Soon after college, I acted in an independent film which changed my understanding of how films were organized and shot as opposed to how they showed up in the final cut. This was a much quicker and less monumental change, but a noticeable one nonetheless.

As soon as I was set up, I checked in for the first time - at a location I had to create: The Irish Heritage Center of Greater Cincinnati. And something lit up.

My thoughts moved to what was coming up in the next few days, where I had to stop, where I could check in, and my plan for stops on a daily basis went from a list to a mental map with little glowing nodes that signified where I'd check in and the glowing lines between them.

Gas station, eye doctor, Dilly Cafe. Mexican restaurant for dinner, bar for drinks, Kroger for shopping.

I'm sorry, I'm getting ahead of myself. Foursquare is a website with app companions that help you "unlock your city." Sign up for an account, download the app, and when you load it, the GPS in your phone will alert you to venues people have created. Check in and you earn points. You can see who's been there, who's there now, and if you check in at least twice and more than anyone else at that venue, you become the Mayor of that venue. As you progress, you also unlock badges like "checked in 10 places" or "3 places in one night" or "Local: same place 3 times in 1 week." You can also add suggestions to each venue to give someone a heads up on something they should try.

Granted, there is also potential danger - someone could use Foursquare to see that you're not home and go rob your house. Then again, as an article I recently read talked about, an answering machine pickup or even a funeral announcement in the paper can do the same thing.

A week later, I hold two mayorships, have unlocked 3 badges, and am just getting started.

From a marketing standpoint, the more a business gets involved, the more visible they can be by promoting themselves and even posting deals on their Foursquare venue page.

Like I said, I'm a n00b, still trying to figure it all out. So check out Foursquare for yourself when you get a chance. Add me to your friends. And have fun with it!

Oh, and here's a Foursquare rap I found: Badges Like Us

Inspiration: Paradise - There's Nothing to It

2010-03-22T18:33:00.000-07:00

Another quote this week for your inspiration joys, from the song "Pure Imagination" from the 1971 movie Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory:

If you want to view paradise,
Simply look around and view it
Anything you want to, do it
Want to change the world?
There's nothing to it

Okay, so it's the silliness of Willy Wonka, right? Wrong.

The quote tells us that if you want to view "paradise," if you want to view a heavenly realm of existence, all you need to do is look around yourself, look at where you are.

You're already here.

I know this wraps back into last week's post, but it's of a different flavor.

If you "truly wish to be" where you envision yourself, if you want to be there, you "simply" must craft it. You create your own reality, your own paradise. Reality has no weight but that which we add. Shakespeare may have been indulging in ethical relativism when he wrote in Hamlet "There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so," but that ties into our daily lives.

Every morning can be painful, every day a chore. And it will all be stress and misery.

Or every morning a seed of success, a chance to help others, a winning proposal to get important things done.

Thinking makes it so.

And if your thinking is not on par? If your thinking is a cause of poison in your life? That's on your shoulders.

Want to change the world?
There's nothing to it

A great debt of thanks to William Shakespeare and Leslie Bricusse (writer of "Pure Imagination") for my inspiration today.

Monday Inspiration: Always Driving to Now

2010-03-15T02:41:00.000-07:00

I can't recall exactly which book it came from by the amazing Richard Bach, but this quote came to mind in the last couple days:

I gave my life to become the person I am right now. Was it worth it?

-Richard Bach

Every day that passes, every moment we live adds to the total time we've spent on this Earth, and every Now is the result of that time. In essence, you've traded your entire life up to this moment for this moment.

This is a gut check. This is a frozen moment of reality and self-awareness. And no matter what you see, it should not be a moment of panicking.

The best case scenario puts you at a level of contentment: "I'm doing all right." The worst case scenario would be the opposite: "What have I been doing?" And contrary to what you might be thinking, both of these require action. If you do not like what you see, change it. The fact that life has added up to this point specifically means that every moment thereafter can change the equation. If you're content with what you see, remember to not remain content.

We are the constructors, the builders. And only we are to blame for who we are. As Arthur O'Shaughnessy famously wrote: "We are the music makers,/ And we are the dreamers of dreams..."

So assemble your life the way you want it to look. Change if you like. Maintain if you like. Always strive for more and better.

There's not better time than now.

Eric's Mystery Music: 3/13/10

2010-03-12T23:03:00.000-08:00

I've been scouting my music collection and realized you might enjoy some stuff you, perhaps, have never heard before. Here are 4 wonderful selections:

The Blow: Parentheses

Menomena: Muscle n Flo

Bon Iver: Flume

Rasputina: Transylvanian Concubine

Friday Videos: Grizzly Bear, Regeneration, FAIL

2010-03-12T16:39:00.000-08:00

If you've never heard of Grizzly Bear, take a minute and check this out. The video is a little odd (meaning I love it) and vocals are fantastic.

Regenerating bodies from New Scientist. Always something to drop your jaw, those guys.

...and an obvious, thoughtless end to the week: Backflip fail.

Have a good one!

Monday Inspiration: Impress Yourself

2010-03-08T13:02:00.000-08:00

Today's a simple idea, a simple message, but hopefully something that will help drive your day.

It's about you. When it comes to the end of the day, when you turn off the lights, when you look in the mirror in the morning, you are the person you have to live with. You are your passion, your brand, your word.

So from now on, realize that you are the only person you have to impress.

Be your own barometer. You'll be a harsher judge and prouder producer than anyone else can be of you.

Now go out there and get 'em!

Microsoft Forced to Let Europe Choose Browser

2010-03-02T09:03:00.000-08:00

From the Telegraph:

From today, people running Microsoft's Windows operating system will be presented with a screen asking them to choose which web browser they would like to use.
...
Microsoft was forced to introduce the browser "ballot box" following a ruling by the European Commission that Microsoft's practice of pre-installing Internet Explorer on every new computer was anti-competitive. The Commission accepted Microsoft’s offer of rolling out the ballot box across its range of Windows machines, which it believes will make it easier for computer users to choose an alternative browser to Internet Explorer.

"Millions of European consumers will benefit from this decision by having a free choice about which web browser they use,” said Neelie Kroes, the EU's competition commissioner.

My first thought was "Sure, that makes sense. Microsoft has a basic weight advantage that's been shouted about for years. They load IE on their machines and people don't know the difference."

But that's the problem; most people don't know the difference. And they don't care. I worked with my parents for over a year before they decided that Firefox was an important innovation in their browsing experience. And even then they weren't impressed. Just something different to complicate things.

My Take

I was feeling for the decision until I read "Millions of European consumers will benefit from this decision by having a free choice about which web browser they use."

Wrong.

Every single American and European and Asian and EVERYONE has a decision to make about what browser they will use to view the internet. Browsers are free. If you're ignorant about that, then you're simply ignorant about that.

I'm not a Microsoft fan (and program open source), but I appreciate the place and service they provide for regular users of computers. Yes, it sucks that Windows is the only way most people know how to use a computer. But Windows is the only way most people know how to use a computer! And if it comes down to it, I'd prefer more people in the world are computer and web-literate than not.

So for me, the question of this article comes down to: Is it up to Microsoft to let people know that different browsers are available? That they don't have to pick MSIE every time?

I don't think so.

I'd guess most people who have to look at that "ballot box" will know one logo and pick that. Because if they didn't have the choice, they would just deal. And if they knew better, they'd download the browser they wanted to download. Simple as that.

It's not their job to inform the public of the options; it's mine. It's ours.

As a developer, you design for Firefox and fix for IE. Because IE is (still!) not as compliant on the basic W3C basics as others are. I've heard Opera is the most compliant, but Google doesn't support Opera. (I know: boo!)

So the basic users? Probably IE. Because it's there.

Only we can tell them there is something better out there.

Thoughts?

Twitter Phishing - Social Media Fraud | kevanshome.org

2010-03-02T07:33:00.000-08:00

Like many of you, I've received a handful of DMs from Twitter that say things like "somebody wrote something about you in this blog here http://tinyurl.com/yauj2fw" or "This you???? http://is.gd/93Hts"

No worries - the URLs have been disabled by both tinyurl and is.gd respectively.

What you would've seen had you clicked those URLs is what looks exactly like a Twitter login page. And apparently there are enough people who gawk at the login and automatically both salivate and type at the same time to see if that's them or if somebody wrote about them ...on a blog ...on Twitter :s

The Result

Luckily, it doesn't appear to be anything horribly malicious on the surface. You login to the fake site, they have an auto programming running in the back that logs on to your account and sends everyone following you a DM linking back to the site so they can do it to all of that person's followers. Perhaps there's something hiding under the surface there, but it's more of an annoyance right now.

The Source

When you click those phishing links, you end up on a page with the root domain as kevanshome.org (going there now gives you a Phishing MySpace account.

Figuring this person was at least a little savvy, I wasn't expecting much when I grabbed the WhoIs info, maybe a blocker program at the least. Nope. Here's what I found:

Domain ID:D157042268-LROR
Domain Name:KEVANSHOME.ORG
Created On:06-Sep-2009 07:34:50 UTC
Last Updated On:10-Nov-2009 14:03:03 UTC
Expiration Date:06-Sep-2010 07:34:50 UTC
Sponsoring Registrar:Xin Net Technology Corporation (R118-LROR)
Status:OK
Registrant ID:7kkxo6fmgfrrz7
Registrant Name:Ken Evans
Registrant Organization:Ken Evans
Registrant Street1:Star Street
Registrant Street2:
Registrant Street3:
Registrant City:Shang Hai
Registrant State/Province:Shanghai
Registrant Postal Code:100000
Registrant Country:CN
Registrant Phone:+86.02142552594
Registrant Phone Ext.:
Registrant FAX:+86.02142552594
Registrant FAX Ext.:
Registrant Email:lixing688@gmail.com
Admin ID:7kkxo6fmgfrrz7a
Admin Name:Ken Evans
Admin Organization:Ken Evans
Admin Street1:Star Street
Admin Street2:
Admin Street3:
Admin City:Shang Hai
Admin State/Province:Shanghai
Admin Postal Code:100000
Admin Country:CN
Admin Phone:+86.02142552594
Admin Phone Ext.:
Admin FAX:+86.02142552594
Admin FAX Ext.:
Admin Email:lixing688@gmail.com
Tech ID:7kkxo6fmgfrrz7a
Tech Name:Ken Evans
Tech Organization:Ken Evans
Tech Street1:Star Street
Tech Street2:
Tech Street3:
Tech City:Shang Hai
Tech State/Province:Shanghai
Tech Postal Code:100000
Tech Country:CN
Tech Phone:+86.02142552594
Tech Phone Ext.:
Tech FAX:+86.02142552594
Tech FAX Ext.:
Tech Email:lixing688@gmail.com
Name Server:NS.XINNETDNS.COM
Name Server:NS.XINNET.CN
Name Server:
DNSSEC:Unsigned

So I know about enough to do some minor internet detectiving, but this one's a little out of my depth.

So instead of a full-on expose, this is more of a first-step fact-finding report. I might do something with it, but I know there are people out there much better equipped to dig into the information. Let me know if you find anything!

Monday Inspiration: Smile On

2010-02-28T20:10:00.000-08:00

Motivating yourself is not just a Monday thing, but an everyday thing.

I think I found my daily motivation anthem. Humorously enough, it's by a band called Anthems. You may know it from a commercial advertising San Diego. It's called "Smile On."

You're in the place you're in. You can change that place if it's bad. You can be that place, if it's good. Either way, it will be wonder or misery.

You make your place in life. You make your reality. You make your joy or feed your pity. The only difference is how you decide to see it.

Make it good.

Make it your own.

Enjoy the song. Think on it. And smile!

Twitter Today! Dalai, Irish, Not English?

2010-02-24T18:21:00.000-08:00

I'd love to say this week that there's a whole buzz over some Twitter news, but after filtering out the useless celeb noise (like Adam Lambert's musings on hottest 12 guys), I'm not left with much this week.

Excitingly and somehow not-so-celeb, the Dalai Lama has opened a Twitter account - and is apparently using it. Founder Evan Williams suggested it and it was laughed off, but the next day, Here's Dalai! You can follow him at the verified account of the Dalai Lama.

And I don't usually toss out my differing projects, but my wife and I have been very involved as of late in helping get the Irish Heritage Center of Greater Cincinnati up and running for their theater opening this weekend. If you've got a few minutes, take a look at the IHC website, follow them on Twitter, and even join the Facebook Group. Thanks!

And, finally, what language you tweeting?

According to Semiocast, which examined 2.8 million tweets over two days in February, 50% of all messages sent on Twitter are in English. Japanese, Portuguese, Malay, and Spanish follow English with 14%, 9%, 6%, and 4% of tweet share, respectively. Several other languages, including Arabic and Italian, make up the remaining 17% of non-English tweets.

Very interesting that Twitter is garnering an international following. I actually picked up on the Japanese aspect a month or two ago when looking for tweets having to do with Xbox 360 game Fallout 3 and was answered with almost solidly foreign language tweets. Which raises an interesting question: Related to video games, how do the percentages fall?

Yeah folks, sorry. That's all this week. If you're really hurting for celeb news on Twitter, feel free to comment. I might be persuaded to add a "Celeb box" to each weeks' Twitter blog post if I get some comments on the subject. Cheers!

Binary Numbers in 60 Seconds

2010-02-24T13:25:00.000-08:00

Just in case you didn't know...

Astronauts: Inspiration

2010-02-22T20:04:00.000-08:00

There are some things that are above words:

There is something about being outside of the world, outside Earth, that can - possibly - make us take pause.

Let us - all of us - take another look. Just one more. And build a world where we look at things a little differently, a little more objectively. Be bigger than our differences. Be bigger than our qualms.

Just be bigger. Drive the conversation, don't be driven by it.

Guide the wisdom. Don't be sucked in with easy outs.

Being stronger means working harder. Being wiser means thinking longer. The easy path is no path at all; everyone's already doing that one.

If you want to make a difference, you need to make it different.

So make it different. Change the angle. Change the outlook. Make that difference.

The hard part is that that will be your day. And tomorrow, you'll have to do it again.

But that's also the beauty in it.

Be that.

Friday Video: Google FTW, Media Crank, Raptors!

2010-02-19T16:54:00.000-08:00

Google "Responds" to Buzz Feedback

(NSFW language bleeped)

CNN Jersey Prank

Raptor Devours Cheerleader

Have a great weekend!

Monday Inspiration: Digging Out

2010-02-15T11:22:00.000-08:00

If you live in the Cincinnati area, you need no reminder that there is going to be between 6 and 8 inches of the white stuff out there later today. We've already earned about 5 in the southeast by 2:30.

Turns out I had to get out on the road for a necessary grocery stop a little while ago and as I was preparing to step outside to dig out the car and shovel the drive, I paused as I opened the door. "This is going to be misery," I thought. Another piece of my mind immediately followed it with "Why?" It occurred to me that this task (and the subsequent driving) was either going to suck or it was going to be enjoyable. And that both were possible.

Letting it suck was the easy choice. Simply let go of hope and allow physical discomfort bleed into your emotional state. Before you know it, you'll be a grump, loudly cursing every strain of your back, every heap of snow you push off the drive, every chill under your clothes. That doesn't sound fun at all.

I wasn't entirely certain how to make it enjoyable, so I started with my standby: At the risk of appearing mad to my neighbors, I put on the biggest grin I could muster. I smiled and shoveled. I thought about the mailman and what a relief it would be to him to tread on a cleared, salted walkway. I thought about my wife effortlessly making it from her car into the house. I thought about how my shoveling was giving the car time to heat and that my drive would be nice and toasty. My smile grew and by the end I was genuinely enjoying myself.

Two lessons here:

Whistle in the Dark
Your actions and attitude will directly translate into emotional state. If you approach a task already discouraged, how do you think it's going to go if you encounter even the least bit of resistance? Smile before a physical task. Mentally smile before a non-physical one. The alternative is not pretty and will drain you.

Little Now, Little Later
I went outside today knowing that maybe half of the snow had fallen. There would be more snow. There would be more work. But instead of allowing that to frustrate me, I took comfort in the fact that now I'm half done and later today or tomorrow I'll be shoveling another 4 or 5 inches while others are hefting 10 at a time.

So let me know: how do you mentally and physically approach challenges? What works for you?

It's going to be a great week!

Friday Video: Sand Animation, Betty White, T-Shirt War, & FAIL

2010-02-12T12:44:00.000-08:00

This past week just blew by; I can't believe we're at Friday already. Here's some entertainment to end the week:

Kseniya Simonova's Amazing Sand Drawing

Also referred to as "sand animation," if you haven't seen the winner of Ukraine's Got Talent in action, you owe it to yourself to do so. Now.

Superbowl

This was one of my favorites from last week. You can't beat Betty White and Abe Vigoda.

T-Shirt War

Especially clever stop-motion clip, also worth your time.

Slide FAIL

I'm sorry. What was I thinking? I'm sure you're in the mood to get the weekend started with something a little more mindless. Here you are.

Have a great weekend!

Inspiration: Give Always

2010-02-08T17:36:00.000-08:00

A koan for you:

Zen Master Ryokan lived a simple and frugal life – all by himself in a small hut at the foot of a mountain. One evening, a thief visited the hut only to discover there was nothing in it to steal. When Ryokan returned, he was 'caught' red-handed. Instead of being angry or alerting the authorities, Ryokan said, 'As you must have come a long way to visit me, you should not leave empty-handed. Please take my clothes as a gift.' Stunned and bewildered, the thief nevertheless took the clothes before sheepishly hurrying off. As Ryokan sat naked while watching the moon, he exclaimed, 'Poor fellow, I wish I could have given him the beautiful moon!'

You give. You give heartily. You train and consult and meet with people who have no intention or ability of paying you for the time. How do you remedy that?

Give more.

Ryokan had it right. The thief had it wrong.

If you're looking to give, you can give the moon.

If you're looking to take, you can have tattered, worn cloth.

Which one will you be?

Comments, always. I'll give you the moon.

Wednesday Twitter Headlines: Security, XLIV, Space, Teens

2010-02-03T15:47:00.000-08:00

No! No celebrity news this week! Not one blip about Fall Out Boy or Lady Gaga. Not one!

Unsecured Twitter?

But this week Twitter did say: "I's been haxed!

"A red flag was first raised on Twitter's end when it noticed an abnormally high number of followers for certain accounts. This prompted the company to investigate and eventually reset the passwords for anyone following those suspicious accounts. Twitter noted that although torrent sites have been around a while, this is the first time it's seen an attack using this angle."

It was a custom-built, torrent site back door, password reset phishing scam. W00t! As always, Twitter kinda has it under control.

Beer! I Mean Super Bowl XLIV

And if you've been waiting with baited breath to see what's going on with tweeting and Super Bowl XLIV, your wait is over: Super Bowl XLIV Earns an Official Twitter Hashtag: #SB44. I'd give you a blockquote on this one but that's the whole story. Not that this is actually news. I went to a conference this past December where a half dozen of us tweeted the event. We had a hashtag too.

Note to media: A hashtag is not earned. You don't have to file with the IRS or anything. You just make it up, let people know, and start using it.

Um, Teens and, um, Twitter

And I also noticed an abnormally large number of stories covering the fact that teens still aren't showing Twitter the love that they show Facebook. Also, this is not news, just like it wasn't news last August when I talked about it.

Maybe I need to start a blog on Twitter headlines that aren't news.

Not Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation

And this one's a little older than a week, but: Tweets From Spaaaaaaace!

NASA has set up an impressive wireless connection that provides astronauts on International Space Station with Internet access so they can surf the Web, e-mail their friends and family back home, and even send Twitter messages.

Flight Engineer T.J. Creamer started using the connection this morning by sending the first tweet originating from the space station.

Sweet. Question: Is a tweet that you're going to the bathroom more interesting if you're going in a suction-powered space toilet on the ISS?

Answer: Yeah!

So what did you learn from Twitter this week? I'm always happy to read your feeback!

Google Shuts Down IE6? Hope hope?

2010-02-02T12:33:00.001-08:00

Every developer's plea* of "Dear MS: Make IE6 die pls. k thx." was brought one more giant step towards fruition. In my inbox this morning was the following from Google:

In order to continue to improve our products and deliver more sophisticated features and performance, we are harnessing some of the latest improvements in web browser technology. This includes faster JavaScript processing and new standards like HTML5. As a result, over the course of 2010, we will be phasing out support for Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0 as well as other older browsers that are not supported by their own manufacturers.

We plan to begin phasing out support of these older browsers on the Google Docs suite and the Google Sites editor on March 1, 2010. After that point, certain functionality within these applications may have higher latency and may not work correctly in these older browsers. Later in 2010, we will start to phase out support for these browsers for Google Mail and Google Calendar.

Google Apps will continue to support Internet Explorer 7.0 and above, Firefox 3.0 and above, Google Chrome 4.0 and above, and Safari 3.0 and above.

Yes, this is where you smile and sigh and possibly float a little. It's okay. I'll wait.

But maybe you're saying "Wait a second, IE6 is just a little older. What's the big hubbub?

The Big Hubbub about IE6

The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) is an international group that works to develop a set of standards for how websites should be coded. And if browsers followed their recommendations, all would be well: A website viewed in IE6 would look the same as IE7 and 8 and Firefox, Chrome, Safari, Opera...

But all has never been well in the world of internet browsers. As a matter of fact, until Firefox 3 and IE7, the land of web development was a sad and desolate place full of angry programmers yelling at their computers at how a website would show up in a particular version of a particular browser because that version didn't follow a W3C spec.

All is not milk and honey quite yet, but it's getting better. Word on the street is Opera is the most compliant, but if you develop in Firefox and fix for IE bugs, you'll probably be fine - just check it in all of them to be sure.

The IE6 Scent Lingers

The souring of development continues. Why? IE6 is still alive and remains the biggest W3C compliance mess out there. Based on the January 2009 numbers, the browser still has a little over 10% of the market share.

But there is hope with the note from Google. There is hope that IE6 will just die, will go away forever. How practical that hope is, only time will tell. All we can do is educate people and spread the word.

So what's your favorite browser? Do you stick with a version of Internet Explorer, shun all but Safari, give Google love on Chrome, or something else? I'd love to hear from you.

* I am personally aware that there are multi-million dollar corporations with active web apps that will not function properly in any browser except IE6. For those developers we weep, say a little prayer, and hope corporate gets on the stick with that, our small exception.

We Got That B-Roll!

2010-01-30T17:06:00.001-08:00

Friday Videos: Generic News, Pants on the Ground, and Gibson/Kimmel

2010-01-29T16:53:00.000-08:00

Here's your videos for this Friday! We've got a generic template for a news report, Pants on the Ground, and Gibson doing the Jimmy Kimmel Story. Enjoy!

The world's most generic news report - Charlie Brooker's Newswipe

Pants on the Ground from American Idol

Gibson does Kimmel

Have a great weekend!

Monday Motivation: Know Thyself, Know Thy Day

2010-01-25T18:01:00.000-08:00

Can't find your motivation in the wee hours of Monday morning? You're not the only one.

Despite the morning rituals I've put into place, despite the practice of resolving chaos, some days I can't - laying there in my comfortable bed - fire up that drive to get moving.

On those days, I find my inspiration elsewhere.

No, that doesn't mean a bottle of Jameson or anything; it means knowing my day.

The Practice:

When you wake, when you're lying there in bed, when you can't get yourself to move: use that time. Imagine your day.

First: Put together a workable list of things you need to get done. Imagine yourself not only gathering those things but making sure you get them done. Do a quick thought experiment on how that would happen, how you'd knock out those items. See yourself happily done with your day, and what will follow.

Let that focused, visualized success drive you, move you, then - Get out of bed!

Unless you're afraid of success (perhaps next week's topic), this should help you get moving, get going, and get ready to change the world (and make some money in the interim).

Have a great day!

There Is No Try

2010-01-25T05:56:00.000-08:00

Even in "Empire," Luke was a whining mess. "OMG No! We'll Never get it out!"

And Yoda smacked him down: "No. Try not. Do... or do not. There is no try."

When I was an entering freshman at Valley Forge High School in Parma Heights, OH in 1990, I recall our principal giving us a speech at which the crux was: Try. I thought then that that speech was BS and it wasn't until I remembered Yoda's quip from "Empire" that I got philosophical about it.

"Try" means half-assed. "Try" means "I'll give it a shot." "Try" is a non-commitment that ends in "Well, I tried!"

Wrong.

As Yoda says, you either do or you do not. When it comes down to success, when it comes down to achieving, you either do or you don't. "Try" is a cop-out. So stop making excuses and get out there and put yourself out there and succeed - or fail. Either way, you've learned something so you can make even more out of it next time.

But don't "Try." If you do, you set yourself up for easy failure. If you fail, make sure you failed because you "did not," you didn't accomplish your goal. Fail is okay. Making excuses is not.

I wish our principal had gone all Yoda on us. I was fine. But I think it may have made a difference in other lives.

Hitler, Hitler, Hitler - Social Media!

2010-01-22T21:50:00.000-08:00

Same clip. Different subtitles. For your Friday Video enjoyment.

Best: Hitler checks Toyota Yaris Social Campaign (read = funniest):

Hitler gets angry about Facebook:

And Hitler gets angry about social media in general (read quickly!):

I don't pretend to think that Hitler's legacy is anything funny. But the parody is. And turning it into a post-modern mashup? Brilliant.

Why? Because turning evil into a cartoon is a way of taking ownership back. A way of not just killing it, but humiliating it.

Let me know your thoughts.

Know Your Partners: A Cautionary Tale

2010-01-21T16:57:00.000-08:00

When you own your own business, you can work the social networks, you can imbue every part of your work and practice with integrity and you can view the entire world as your growing oyster.

But people will take advantage. If someone can - or has for a while - gamed the system, turned things slightly unethical to get a buck into his/her pocket, they will always be that person.

Allow me an example: I got into business with a friend and her business partner. The parameters were pretty straightforward: Nice niche, I build the site, they handle the logistics, and I get a cut of the profit after a down payment. Pretty normal. She seemed to trust this guy, so I was fine with it.

Business dramatics aside, I got a call from my friend yesterday. She had received a text from her business partner: "Tell Eric we sold the business and get the passwords so I can have this guy in India work on it." Luckily I have a friend first and a business partner second. We'll be making our own move soon.

Logistics of selling a business aside, who does that? Who thinks that kind of business practice is even reasonable?

Answer: No one you want to deal with.

Lesson learned: Spend time - hours and hours if necessary - before getting into business with anyone. People have the potential for anything. Hope for the best, but get to know them. And even then, prepare for the worst. Always have something in iron-clad writing.

I wasn't burned this time, but I have been before. And fool me once...

What are your experiences in business? Do you have any horror stories? Magnificent stories? What advice can you give based on your business or life experiences?

Wednesday Twitter: Obama, Bill Gates, Terrorism, and Celebs!

2010-01-20T16:53:00.000-08:00

OMG! CELEBS!

Every week: celebrity drama. Let's get it over with. Awww-dang. Bow Wow's mom's on Twitter and he's not happy. He tells her to get off or he will. Ooh! And Carolina Panthers running back Jonathan Stewart announced on this Twitter account that he will have surgery on his foot today. Woo! Oh, and someone conned Gordon Ramsey of Hell's Kitchen to take a course so he could start tweeting. I feel sorry for Ramsey's money.

Bill Gates

Wait, does this belong in celebs? Looks like Bill Gates joined Twitter. Ooh, and he even did "Hello World" as his initial tweet! How quaint! Why don't you start getting into Modest Mouse 3 years after their 5th studio release?

Obama on Twitter?

Don't get all excited. He posted on someone else's account:

Early this week, US President Barack Obama posted his first ever tweet on the website during a visit to the Red Cross Disaster Operations Centre in Washington, DC to engage in a little social networking asking people to help Haiti.

His tweet simply said – "President Obama and the First Lady are here visiting (the Red Cross) disaster operation centre right now".

But he did send a tweet, which is something when it comes to politicians and technology. (See: "It's a series of tubes!")

Twitter Slows Down

I'm not sure if the fact that a technology that has held so much hype for so long settles into reality is really a news story, but Twitter's Growth is Slowing.

HubSpot, a Cambridge, Mass.-based Web analytics company, said in its latest "State of the Twittersphere" report that the growth rate dropped to 3.5% in October compared to 13% just seven months earlier.

But it's still growing? Yep. Okay then, on to...

Twitter Terrorist!

If you're pissed at the state of air travel do you:

Deal with it like the rest of us.
Whine about it like the rest of us.
Threaten to blow up the airport.

The man in question tweeted "Robin Hood airport is closed. You've got a week and a bit to get your sh** together, otherwise I'm blowing the airport sky high!!"

(answer:3)

Okay, I can understand the frustration if you're stuck in -- wait, what's that you say? He was just hearing reports about airport delays on the telly a couple weeks before even entering that airport? And he tossed what might be construed as a terrorist threat into the aether of the internets and thought that would be OK?

Some people should not have access to technology.

But that's it folks! The end of another week of Twitter news and events and laughs. Are you surprised? Granted, I was feeling a little smarmy, but hey, that's how it turned out this week. I guess when Twitter news presents something serious, we get serious.

Let me know your best Twitter headlines. I'll take your comments into next week's blog post!

A Tale of Google, Foolishness, and the MCC

2010-01-20T14:29:00.000-08:00

I'm currently managing several Adwords accounts and it was about dang time to set up my own My Client Center. Google's My Client Center is a wonderful interface that allows you to manage several independent Adwords accounts in one place. Hey, I've already got an Adwords campaign set up for EJM Designs, so how hard could that be?

Yeah.

Turns out that if you have an Adwords account associated with a Google Account, you can't use that account to create an MMC. So along with my personal Gmail and my professional Gmail and my site running through Google Apps email, I was forced to create an entirely new account to handle my MMC.

Okay, I understand that. It's not ideal in any sense, but if that's how they're driving the bus, that's how they're driving the bus.

But then I tried to adjoin an existing account I was managing to my MCC. And I got a message to the effect: In order to link this account to your MMC, you will have to Contact Us. Hrm?

So I emailed and contacted them and about 4 days later got this back:

Hello Eric,

[sic] for emailing me to link a client account (Customer ID xxx) to your MCC (xxx). You weren't able to link the accounts because the would-be client account is using a beta billing interface, which makes it unable to be managed by an MCC. The new interface is being tested on just a limited number of new accounts, and we're working to give them full functionality as soon as possible. I'm sorry for the inconvenience, and I wanted to offer you a couple of options. Please reply to this email and let me know which you'd prefer.

OPTION 1: You can create a new account through the link in your My Client Center

...

OPTION 2: Ask us to move this client account to the previous billing interface

...

Please let me know which option you'd like to take, and we'll continue from there.

Thanks for your understanding.

Sincerely,

[CSR] B.
The Google AdWords Team

(I picked option 2 because I'm not reinventing an already well-oiled wheel.)

But what? When I initially created the account, there was no mention of "Hey, we're testing a new Billing Interface!"

So this post is not intended to poo-poo the Google that I know and love, just to bring some of those more interesting glitches and hoops to light so when you're about to do the same thing, you don't wonder why something didn't work or get fired up about WTF is going on.

Short version: Have Adwords? Don't try to add MCC to that account, and always add new accounts through your MMC to guarantee compatibility.

Oh, and I guess this came to light last year, but Google Adwords is not supported on the Opera Browser. Looks like all other Google applications are fine, but just not Adwords. Again: weird.

So what are your thoughts about my tale? Have you run into this? Do you have any other advice for others, your own warnings, so to speak?

Monday Inspiration: Order from Chaos

2010-01-18T05:42:00.000-08:00

Dom Deluise as Captain Chaos in Cannonball Run

Order can beget contentment, happiness, and even motivation in the same way that chaos can make you want to cringe or even crawl up into a little ball and cry out for your mommy.

I have a confession to make: I am not the most orderly person in the world. And that's okay. I keep things in my own form of organization (I say that "I organize spatially" - my wife disagrees with that categorization). But in today's non-stop pace of information and business and managing work and family time, things fall through through the cracks. Those things accumulate. And then they become a project in themselves.

So today's message is a simple one: Clean your room! If it's your office space or your inbox (or inboxes), make sure that you have a place for everything - and put everything in its place.

"Woah, woah! But Eric," you quiver, "that'll take me a whole day - I'll lose a whole day of work!"

Relax! You've let it go this long; don't break yourself trying to get everything done at once. Break the Gestalt you see as potential clean into bite-sized pieces. Create a plan. Write it down somewhere. Stick to it. Heck, make it a 30 minute scheduled appointment in your day. Before you know it, you'll be on your way to more order in your life and your work.

And the best part of the whole thing? Each step, each piece of your ordering lifts a weight off your shoulders. You will feel lighter. You will feel freer. And that, in itself, can be a motivation, can be the wind of inspiration blowing at your back.

Challenge: Do something small today to bring more order to your life. File some papers, disentangle your computer cords, throw something away that needs to be tossed. Post in the comments what it was and how it made you feel.

For my part? I have 4 very active inboxes, all of which need a good cleaning. I will clear at least 2 of them at some time today and update this post at the end of the day and let you know how it went.

What will you do to to make your life more manageable today?

UPDATE: In the spirit of full disclosure, I have only cleared one of my inboxes to less than 5 emails. Hoping -- NO! I will complete the other 3 tomorrow.

No. Try not. Do... or do not. There is no try.

Thursday Technology: Wii Think, WiFi Sensitivity, Dante Fail, 3D-TV

2010-01-14T15:43:00.000-08:00

What do Wii Think?

This is not a joke.

Wii has a new one, reports Dvice. Concept peripheral that is. The reported use is that by getting older folks to think really, really hard, they'll ward off teh Alzheimer's. Yay! Right? Well, not really. See, there's not much scientific evidence saying that thinking real hard prevents Alzheimer's.

However, they have succeeded in creating the equivalent of the Nintendo Power Glove that our parents and grandparents can wear on their heads.

(sidenote: they spent so much on materials for this concept and the photog that they couldn't actually get a real Wii and used a cardboard mock-up instead.)

Dang Kids and Their Wifi - Spiders!

Now the Santa Fe New Mexican reports that one [man] has sued his neighbor for refusing to turn off their cellphone and Wi-Fi hotspot. Arthur Firstenberg claims he was made homeless by the neighbor, who apparently didn't appreciate his unique ailment. Firstenberg's legal argument is a bit of a treat, suggesting he's been forced to live in his car

I was going to put something in here about being crazy, but DSL reports already pointed out that "the science that does exist strongly suggests that those claiming to be suffering from "electromagnetic sensitivity" are simply suffering from psychosomatic disorders, and might be helped by therapy and/or medication."

If you're looking for a handout, collect unemployment like everyone else and stay home, crazy. Oh, wait. You can't. Alien death ray neighbors and all that. Sorry.

The Smack Dante so Hard Virgil Feels It Dept.

The folks behind the fun and enthralling demon-killing reimagining of one third of Dante's La Divina Commedia have sold the art so that Del Rey Books can release Longfellow's translation to coincide with the game release.

This, also, is not a joke.

Aside from the mix of zombie apocalypse and romance novel and "holy crap did he stitch a fabric cross to his chest?" and the fact that Dante does not - at any point in The Divine Comedy - wield a spine-mounted scythe, anything stick out for you?

If they'd sexed up any of Jane Austen's novel covers, I might have been a little more receptive in my Single Author class back in college. Then again, I'd have been even more disappointed by the contents. No, thank you. I'll stick to Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (which is apparently starring and being produced by Natalie Portman!?)

But I digress. Message: stop pillaging classic literature with a file and wax. You're messing up the patina. And then it's worth nothing.

A Note on 3D-TV

With CES behind us for 2010, let's make one thing pretty clear: 3D-TV is the new generation's LaserDisc.

Companies see a new, cutting-edge technology, see James Cameron's "Avatar" blowing the sides off the movie industry and they want to stick their fingers into that honeypot. No! Stop! You're wasting your money!

There are people without TV's. There are people with TV's that don't use them because they haven't figured out or gone through the trouble of getting a digital tuner. There are people without cable. There are people - like me - who have a TV and cable but have not upgraded to HDTV (or even a flat panel) because of the cost.

Is anyone going to take one more step and purchase a television with a 3D badge so they can sit on their couch with glasses on? Well, yes. And those people are wealthy early-adopters.

But for the rest of us, it's silly. I loved going to see the 3D IMAX version of "Avatar" a couple weeks ago. But a really expensive television in the living room that makes me put on glasses that will probably get lost or crushed or the dog chewed them up so I can watch an occasional 3D show or movie? (Note: the tech to film "Avatar" was just invented by Cameron and most shows/broadcasts aren't even filmed in HDTV yet.)

I just don't see it.

But maybe I'm not wearing the right glasses.

That's your tech wrap for this week! What are your thoughts?

MSN Tech-NO: The Microsoft-Google Synchronized FAIL Team

2010-01-14T15:26:00.000-08:00

So if I go to Google - as I am wont to do - and were to type in, for instance, tech gadgets I get to see this:

Note that the #2 non-sponsored link is MSN's Tech Page. Okay, that's cool. Maybe I should check that out. *click*

BOO! MSN! Google! Boo!

FYI, the timed redirect goes to MSNBC's Tech page. This is an absolute SEO FAIL in a couple ways and both are to blame:

Google is listing at #2 a page that no longer exists.

Google is listing at #2 a page that has a timed redirect.

Microsoft did not post a 301 permanent redirect.

Boo!

For someone who is in the industry and knows what they're doing, this is saddening and disheartening. It's an obvious glitch on a prominent sample in a system that says that listing should not exist. I'm not saying I don't expect goofs and oversight every once in a while. But goofs and oversights are small. This is pretty big. And it's either saying "Google and MSN not only trip but sometimes even fall" or "If you're big enough and talk to the right people, you don't have to follow the rules."

I hope it's the former.

[sidenote: Good on Google for banging the drums against China!]

What're your thoughts?

Northeast Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce

2010-01-13T15:57:00.001-08:00

In my business, it becomes necessary to participate in triage: if I'm spending time out networking I'm spending time I'm not working for a client and vice-versa. Time is of the essence and doing a weekly cost analysis is an integral part of spending that time as best I can.

Even blogging can become cumbersome, so I hope you take this recommendation to heart.

I belong to a couple different networking groups and chambers and just today joined the Northeast Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce.

The Northeast Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce offers many of the things other official "Chambers" offer to small businesses, but the thing I'd like to focus on is their Leads Meeting. It happens every Wednesday at the Clarion off the Fields Ertel exit off I-71.

Delicious! And I don't mean that just because Taz Restaurant catered the meeting today (Lebanese, Greek, and Awesome!).

Any time you get a chance to get in front of other people, tell them what you do, pass some business cards, and network before and after, it's a win. Social media is not meant to keep us in front of our computers but to apprise us of opportunities to meet and shake hands.

As I say, a smile and a handshake is worth a thousand Tweets.

And I just wanted to thank the Northeast Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce for offering such a meeting and say I'm glad to be a part of the organization.

2010 is going to be an amazing year and this is going to be a solid piece of it.

Stop by, say hi, shake a couple hands and see if it offers you the same. I look like the guy in my profile pic :)

Have a great day!

The Orangutan and the Hound

2010-01-13T15:53:00.000-08:00

I'm not generally a sappy internet video viewer and the fact that this came from my family makes it even less likely I'd share it here, but - dang - it's too frickin' adorable.

Friday Film on Tuesday: Dumb Funny, Darksiders, Avatar on Pocahontas

2010-01-12T12:19:00.000-08:00

This isn't early, but late. So more to love this Friday! Enjoy.

Hahaha...someone said in the comments of this video "If you think this is funny you must be six years old." I did not realize I was six.

Darksiders

One of my pleasures is video games. Granted, I only just finished Mass Effect and Bioshock this past year. And I'm working - very slowly - on Fallout 3. But I played the demo of Dante's Inferno (AWESOME!) and was impressed.

This looks equally impressive:

Avatar on Pocahontas on Avatar on...

I recently saw Avatar in full-on IMAX 3D. It was tasty and delicious. And it blew my mind. For me, the story was a 6.5/10, but the movie magic that happens with 3D and the special effects would bring my overall rating to an 8.5/10. The trailer blew my mind. But let's look at the mashups, shall we?

Newport on the ...Browser?

2010-01-04T16:18:00.000-08:00

I'd like first to wish all my readers a wonderful and prosperous 2010: I think we're in for one heck of a year. Or at least I'm willing to make it successful!

This past weekend I traveled over the river to Newport on the Levee to see Avatar in IMAX 3D (and it was worth every cent of the parking and the $15/per ticket and wearing glasses- Amazing! But that's a separate post. This is a short one.).

When we were driving towards the packed parking garage, I noticed the Newport on the Levee logo on a sign. I noticed it over the summer, but this reinforced my insight and I had to post about it. Here's what I saw:

And the first time I saw it, it took me 0.3 seconds to relate it to what I thought that logo looked like.

Anyone else?

Okay, I'll just spill it:

To be clear: I'm not claiming the logo designer stole or even drew inspiration from the Netscape logo before putting together the Newport on the Levee logo. But I found it similar enough to be just a little uncanny.

Do you have any thoughts? I'd love to read them. Simply comment. And I'll respond :)

Holiday Inspiration

2009-12-28T21:07:00.000-08:00

I don't mean to get all Bill Murray on you...

...but Christmas was a special time for me this year. Not because of any specific event, but because I got to spend a wonderful few days with an amazing family. And my favorite part was the ability I have to give to them and the ability I have to give to others.

Not everyone has that time. Not everyone has the family I (or you) may have.

But everyone has the chance to experience that spirit of giving.

It doesn't have to be Christmas or any other holiday. It doesn't have to be yesterday or tomorrow or any day but today. Give. Give your time. Give your wisdom. Give your heart. Help someone. Now.

"You can make them a sandwich and say 'By the way: HERE!' ...then the miracle can happen to you too!"

I guess I did just get all Bill Murray on you.

Give.

You'll be better for it. All of us will.

Friday Video Overlap: FailBlog's Top 10 FAILs ++

2009-12-18T14:32:00.001-08:00

So good it deserves its own post.

...and I've really just got to stop with YouTube today. Here are the Sleep Sweepers:

Friday Vids: FFXIII, Iron Man 2, Toyota Sexist? (+ Stoned Cats)

2009-12-18T12:38:00.000-08:00

Another Friday, another bunch of videos, and always more to love. To keep the streak going, we're going to continue to geek out on you, starting with some video games:

IGN Daily Fix

Final Fantasy XIII has been released!

...in Japan. Check that fanfare!

So pleased it will be coming to Xbox360.

And the Jessica from the Fix was right...

Iron Man 2 Trailer

...is frickin' awesome!

Noms for the eyes.

Toyota Yaris: FAIL or WIN?

So Toyota Australia had this idea: jump into the social media bus and try to steer it a little in their direction. They solicited user-generated entries for ads for the Toyota Yaris AND let the world decide which one would win.

The following video, the winner, is safe for work, but the language is VERY double-entendre and has been called worse things than sexist. And they're Australian.

And a barrage of bloggers and tweeps and "opposition" popped up and had that winner pulled before going to air.

So, the question is: fail or win? I think their idea was a win, but the result of the idea was questionable. But not a fail. It's a lesson learned for anyone trying to exploit social media. You're herding cats. It can be a win and a fail. And when you're dumping something onto the internet, you're not just dealing with your consumers. You're dealing with every single person who has nothing better to do during the day than become offended by something and write letters.

But in a way, this is a huge success. Lots of coverage, lots of media - at least on the internet. And if you think about it, when user-generated content generates more content, you've arrived. I present a parody of the marketing initiative that led to the Yaris experiment:

Random: Catweed

So here's something relatively random: cats getting high on plants. Weird thing is, it was in my search results for the Yaris. Not so weird it turns out: the clever bugger listed the video description as:

Fresh Organic Chronic Catnip @ www.catweed.com .Toyota Yaris - Clean Getaways commercial rocks, now catweed rocks.

See? SEO isn't exactly magic ;)

Now, for those stoned kittehs!

Have a great weekend!

Twitter Wed: 2009 Trends, Chris Brown, Contributors, Games?

2009-12-16T11:34:00.000-08:00

So in 2009 --

Beat Down n Quittin'

No, sorry, let's just get this over with. Chris Brown quit Twitter. He flipped out online at Walmart when he didn't see his album. It looked like this:

im not biting my tongue about [expletive] else… the industry can kiss my [expletive].  … yeah i said it and i aint retracting [expletive]

Oh noes! Boo hoo! Perhaps beating the snot out of Rihanna wasn't the right publicity move.
</celebrityGossip>

So in 2009...

Twitter's main trending topics for the year have been released. People topping the list were Michael Jackson, Susan Boyle, Adam Lambert, Kobe, and that guy we already talked about above. In topics, Swine flu picked up two slots in the top ten thanks to the hash tag and Iran-related pulled three, including the #1 spot. Harry Potter beat out New Moon in movies (hehehe), "Super Bowl" took sports, and "Google Wave" took the tech category.

Twitter Contributors

Twitter's branching out to business appeal by testing a contributor feature where multiple users could be included under one corporate or business entity. They've had teams of bloggers on one blog for years now. Not entirely surprising it's coming to microblogging. But Mashable has some great screen shots to round out the experience.

In a completely unrelated yet equally unsurprising move, Facebook is prepping to allow public updates to go to Twitter. Um, Linkedin went dual wield over a month ago, Tweetdeck already hooks me into Facebook, Linkedin, and MySpace, and Ping.fm is the one ring to rule them all. Is this really news?

Game Killers - this was going to be bold until I realized it really just fit into the same category. Again, unsurprisingly, your favorite annoying genre of Facebook games is coming to you through Twitter. Great. Maybe now I can get Farmville from both sides. W00t!

So that's it for this week's headlines. What Twitter news have you heard? Let me know your fav's and I'll probably use them next week. Have a great day!

Networking: Do the 1-on-1

2009-12-15T14:34:00.000-08:00

Often times, as a social media evangelist of sorts, I get the question: "Okay, so I'm on all these sites, but what now? Where is this all supposed to lead?" And because generally I hear this question at a networking event, my answer is "You're already here."

Social, online media has the unfortunately intuitive feel of something that is supposed to distance you from people. However, I always argue that the opposite is true: social media is a tool that you can use to extend your presence, enforce your branding, and - perhaps most importantly - get out there and meet people. You may have a killer product and great marketing plan, but without action, without shaking hands and interacting in the real world, you are but a cannonball without gunpowder.

So my comment about networking events being the end of that road, while appropriate, is not entirely accurate. Getting out there is great and if you're lucky you get a chance to pop a 30 second commercial and add awareness of your product and/or brand. But let's go one step further: The 1-on-1.

What's That?

Getting in front of 30 or 50 people and dropping spiel is the shotgun approach, and it works fine for getting a rough idea of what everyone in the group does. But some of those shots in the air should look to you like flares. How so?

For example, EJM Designs Limited is all about web design, SEO, and internet marketing. A great way for me to grow my business is to get to know people who run or work for collaborative enterprises, such as a public relations company who might not have a dedicated web person or a print company or a marketing company. But it doesn't have to be limited to those relationships.

I get ahead of myself. If someone has piqued your interest, simply approach them and see if there's a time to get a coffee or have lunch together to learn more about their business. If you're shy, don't worry too much about it. It's not a date. It's a business 1-on-1.

So What Happens Then?

You get together for lunch or coffee (I prefer coffee; not a huge fan of eating a meal while trying to have a discussion) and you talk about yourself and your business and the other person talks about their business and you see if there's any way to help each other out. The conversation is about trust and comfort while at the same time learning about the other person and their business. It generally takes about an hour and ends with a "Thank you" and a much fuller understanding of what that person does and how you can help.

In the way that a networking event is social, a 1-on-1 is personal. You're both investing time in understanding the other to develop a stronger business bond.

A Couple Tips

This is not a sales call - This is about building a business relationship, not selling your 1-on-1. There is no better way to turn OFF someone to being another champion voice for your cause than to push them into buying what you're selling

LISTEN. This is a two-way conversation. Another turn-off: someone who won't pause for a second to ask for feedback.

Ask questions - The only way to make sure you have a clear understanding of what that other person does.

Ask if they have any other questions - make sure they understand you.

When discussion your business, always mention your target customer or client, and ask about theirs if they don't.

And that's about all there is to it. Do this at least once a week and before you know it, you've got many, many advocates for you and your business and the growth will show for it. Just remember to offer yourself as a resource first, to focus on giving, and you'll be surprised at what can happen.

So what about you? Have you had a 1-on-1 recently? How did it work out for you? Do you have any questions if you haven't done this?

Inspired on Monday by the Little Things

2009-12-14T14:14:00.000-08:00

Inspiration does not always have to evolve from a magnanimous event or insight. Sometimes it's the little things.

This morning, I went out to have a 1-on-1 coffee (more in tomorrow's post) with a networking friend and on the way back stopped for gas. While filling up, I checked my fluids and noted I needed to top off my oil and my engine coolant. I unscrewed my oil cap, set it on the air filter casing, dumped the quart of oil through the lovely, BP-provided paper funnel, and pulled it up to take it to the garbage. Another paper filter later, I'd topped the coolant and dropped the hood.

On the way home, the feeling of contentment that comes with keeping up on basic car maintenance dropped into the pit of my stomach as I realized that I was driving on the highway and could not remember screwing the cap back on the top of the engine block where I put the oil in. Bad. So bad. Did I lose the cap? Is is going to spurt out hot oil and catch on fire under the hood? Ooh, I don't want to be that guy on the side of the road, holding up traffic while my car is on fire and the local fire dept. comes to put it out - always just a little too late!

But I made it home and immediately popped the hood. Yes, the cap was gone, but nothing was burning. And then I looked around. The cap was wedged into the fan assembly and hadn't fallen out.

Yay!

Bonus? The rake handle I'd cursed myself for not tossing out weeks before was instrumental in dislodging the cap so I could put it back on.

...and that made my day. It was wonderful. It was partially my own fault that caused the minor drama, but success at the end of anything is still success.

Message: Accept the little victories. Say "Thank You." And have a great day.