Innovation Buzz

Insight from Pixar on What They Look for in Hiring

2009-07-04T11:00:00.008-04:00

The speech is titled Learning and Working in the Collaborative Age but the speech gives great insights into what Pixar looks for when they are hiring people. (Video is only 9 minutes long)

The two points that I really liked were

1 - Mastery - This is the opposite of how a normal hiring person would think, in that Pixar is not looking for someone who is a master of one particular job related skill but that the person has

mastered something. This shows Pixar that this person has the can do personality to master something which can be channeled into Pixar's business.

2 - Breadth - They are looking for someone with experiences not just experience.

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New Ideas vs Old Ideas

2009-06-23T10:09:00.003-04:00

John Cage as far as I can tell gets credit for the quote.

Get the poster at the Imaginary Foundation. Lots of other cool prints and shirts.

Traditional Media, Like the Car Industry, Needs a Major Change

2009-06-06T22:22:00.012-04:00

Being forced to change is never an easy idea to accept if your business was previously making lots of money. We are now seeing large companies in huge industries failing because they did not plan, innovate or notice the world was changing around them. The mad scramble in the car industry is occuring but traditional media is also in crisis mode. Just this past week multiple articles have brought this to light. Most of these articles are about prints decline but it is safe to lump all traditional media into most of these discussions. (TV is actually closer to more solutions than print and radio.)

First one from Techcrunch is that newpaper ad sales have gone from really bad to really really really bad. Q1 ad sales down $2.6 billion. Let that sink in for a moment...... I am sure there is lots of blame to go around in the industry but that does not move the industry forward or does it?The print industry in the next article blames Google for stealing their ad revenue.

The American Press Institute met in Chicago and came out with a plan to save the newspaper industry. And in this plan they lob some stones at Google and Amazon (brillant!). Their plan is horrible. Lets make consumers pay for content, show the same old ads, lobby for policies that help us, invest huge amounts of money to create a platform for the industry to charge for content and a bunch more bad ideas. Techcrunch has so nicely embeded a copy of the white paper. (This meeting of the newpaper big wigs is walking a fine line of anti-trust as well)

Then here are a couple of guys with some opinions on what is wrong with the newspaper industry and they provide some sounder solutions.

Clay Shirky does a deep dive, in his post titled Newspapers and Thinking the Unthinkable, into the history of newspapers and how they need try new things to figure out what is next. He states we are currently at the point were everyone knows the model for the industry is broken but no one knows what will fix it. Here is one of my favorite quotes from the post.

"This is true, but irrelevant to the problem at hand; “You’re gonna miss us when we’re gone!” has never been much of a business model."

Next up is Kirk from Post Advertising he wrote Redefining Advertising to Save Journalism. He is getting closer to a solution. The newspapers need to change how they advertise.

Traditional media know how to create great content. Now they must learn how to customize and leverage that content to captivate an audience while driving marketing results for a client.

New types of advertising solultions for marketers need to be developed and the only way to figure out which ones will work is to test them. Some bombs are going to happen but when gold is struck it will be a nice payout. More brainstorming between traditonal media and their advertiser is needed to create new forms of advertising.

This is startingto happen, as I am actually working with a radio station on creating a unique strucutre for my company to "advertise" on their website. The ideas we are bouncing around involve revenue sharing (CPA or affiliate deals if you will) for customers that they send to us and buy, mixed with on air mentions, banner ads and even tweets by their on air personalities. In the end if done right the station has the potential to actually make more money than they would from their normal rates. In additio the station can make money post the advertsing run if we negotiate an extended cookie.

The industry needs new people brought in to start coming up with creative advertising programs. Tradtional media has good content and they have eyeballs/ears that can be monetized but status quo or just the same old models re-applied to new technology is not the solution.

To end is a YouTube video called The Day Media Died. A nice remake of Don McLeans American Pie that summarizes the fall of big media buys.

URL Tracking to Gage a Clients Interest Level

2009-05-15T10:02:00.007-04:00

As a tinkerer I tend to take traditional tools and apply them to day to day things. In the current start up I am at, I sometimes work on business development as well as investor relations. Which means making phone calls and emails to people that may or may not want to hear from me. And it is sometimes very difficult to gage someones interest level.

Most people try to use read receipts for emails they send out to confirm someone opened their email. This works some of the time but to me it feels invasive to the receiver. So instead of using this method I add tracking to links I send to individuals. For example I was approaching some resorts about our products and during the call I said I can send them some sample websites we manage and market. A pretty standard thing to do. But the links I provide display like this

Silver Lake Resort - in Orland, FL

but have a destination url like this http://www.silverlakeorlandoresort.com/GetMicroHomeScreen.event?insertcontactsnameoridentifier

The part in red is they key. I insert an identifier for the contact which allows me to then via analytics see if that person went to the site, how long they stayed, how many page views etc... Which gives me a much better idea of the person's interest. For those using Google Analytics go to the Content section, then the Content Drilldown and then search the identifier.

I am now getting my fellow co-workers into this habitat and they are enjoying it. There is a thrill of knowing what you emailed out was used by the recipient and gives you more confidence when you know they have spent sometime looking at your website(s).

Got other great tips for using analytics for not so normal things? Post them in the comments

Tip Time For Brands on Twitter

2009-05-09T15:27:00.005-04:00

1 - Have quality tweets in place before you do a big follow campaign.
I always make sure I have 3-4 good quality tweets on my profile before I start following a bunch of other people or if we are doing a big email blast with a twitter follow badge on it. The strategy here is that people may not know your company, may not know what twitter is or may not be sure how you are using twitter. So all of these people may come to your twitter page and if you have 3-4+ good quality tweets then those potential followers have a higher propensity to start following you. I know it seems basic but we have all been to some company twitter pages and bounced due to bad tweets.

2 - Be A Magpie .com = FAIL (not linked on purpose) - This tool, if you will, basically allows companies to use willing twitter accounts for their advertisements. The willing twitter accounts get paid for selling their souls and the company may get a short term boost. But this is not conversation this is advertising. This strategy may work in the short term but long term this is not a social media strategy it is a gimmick. Let the conversation happen naturally. As a company you can provide fuel to help the conversation happen but let it naturally be set on fire.

Don't get me wrong I am all for affiliate marketing on twitter but used in the proper useful context. An example would be someone tweets "looking for a good flight deal. Ideas?". A smart affiliate would @reply with a link to some deals where they get a cut.

Have some tips, leave them in the comments!

Quote for Entrepreneurs

2009-04-25T17:23:00.002-04:00

"We cannot insure success, but we can deserve it." - John Adams

Analytics for Your Social Media Strategy

2009-03-31T11:49:00.007-04:00

Tracking is one thing that businesses often over look with their social media strategy. And they shouldn't because if you are in charge of social media you want to show what your doing adds value (meaning put some hard numbers and cash to all your socializing).

0.) (Yep starting at zero b/c you should have already done this) Get a Google Analytics account setup on your website/blog. Go here to do it

1.) Start adding tracking to the end of your URLs before you shorten them.
Here is an example:
I want to tweet about my blog post "The Top 5 People to Follow on Twitter" and here is what the normal URL looks like

http://www.innovationbuzz.com/2009/02/top-people-to-follow-on-twitter-imho.html

Now I am going to add a "?" past the "html". This "?" tells the web browser to ignore everything past it. Then I added 3 pieces of data that I pick.

utm_Source=
utm_Medium=
utm_Campaign=

These 3 data points are tracked in Google Analytics for slicing and dicing.

Source is the referring place so in this case it will be Twitter. Easy enough. This will allow you to create reports showing all conversions from a source in this caseTwitter. So the high level.

Medium is a Tweet but other mediums would be email, facebookstatus, blogpost etc.... This will allow you to create reports showing all conversions from a medium in this case tweets. This level is digging down more.

Lastly Campaign for me is Top5TwittersPost but this could be a sale name or promo code. This level gets us down to the exact thing we posted.

To create the url before shortening it one last thing you must know is that you have to put a "&" between each piece of data which lets Google Analytics see those pieces separately. Here is the end result for my URL.

http://www.innovationbuzz.com/2009/02/top-people-to-follow-on-twitter-imho.html?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=tweet&utm_campaign=top5twitterspost

2.) What the Hell Do I Track and How Do I measure Value?

There are primary goals to track and secondary goals. All have value.

Primary Actions (the value is easy to see)

The visitor buys something - You make $
The visitor fills out your lead form - You have hooked a potential customer
The visitor signs up for your newletter - You have permission to email a potential customer
The visitor signs up to receive your catalog - You have permission to mail them your catalog
The visitor starts a chat session with your customer service or uses the "click to call" function. You have a chance to help the visitor buy something.

Secondary Actions (The value not always a hard number but still valuable)

The visitor checks out your careers page. HR spends lots of money trying to recruit new employees so if your social media gets someone to apply you saved them $. (Side note use social media to promote job openings)
The visitor shares something from your site on a social network. Integrating social media share features allows your visitors to distribute your content to their network. This is like a personal recommendation by that visitor. Huge! People trust recommendations from their friends a ton. I know not a hard number but huge value.
The visitor spends more than X minutes on your site so there is a Y% chance they will come back and buy something. You will have to dig your own figures up in analytics but figure out when people spend more than X minutes on your site they eventually purchase something Y% of the time.
New visitors. Bringing new people to your site is big. This means you are extending your reach beyond your core.
Do you have more things to track leave them in the comments.

Tracking these actions can be done in Google Analytics via the goal tracking and ecommerce tracking. Go here to learn about setting up goal tracking and here for ecommerce. Some of this may already be setup which makes it that much easier.

3.)Setup Automated Reports
This is a the biggest time saver. Within Google Analytics you can have any report emailed to you on a regular basis. Here is a quick tutorial

On top of every report there is an email button. If you click that you are given options on scheduling reports. Not sue why this is buried in

Here is what that screen looks like. So I recommend a weekly and/or monthly report at a minimum showing the goals you have met via social media. Show some value to what you are doing then ask for more resources and maybe even a raise!! And if you need help setting these up ask around the office or do some research online.

Dig Deeper
- Twitter Integration into Omniture
- Anlytics Guru for Google (read this to blow your mind on analytics)

Link Love - It's Been Awhile

2009-03-31T10:41:00.005-04:00

I am going to try and be more regular with some link love to sites and products I am liking.

Chicago Convergence - "Collaborate about new ventures in technology, interactive media, social change and the arts; digital expressions of ideas with global scale." If you work in Chicago and are in marketing or advertising in any capacity across any channel come and join this community (powered by Ning).

23andMe - This is the personal DNA mapping company that was started by one of the wifes of the Google Founders. The main reason this has come back on my radar it now only cost $399. Still a nice chunk of change but you learn about your health and what you are predisposed to possibly getting, along with seeing your ancestry and they have a community.

Scooters Frozen Custard - If you live in Chicago or are visiting this place is amazing. They just opened their doors for the season. They always have great new flavors.

Diners, Drive Ins and Dives - This is my new favorite Food Network show. Guy Fieri goes to all these great off the beaten path joints that make some amazing dishes. And for some reason the way Guy eats makes it look like the best thing he has ever tasted. Seriously he has some weird gift.

Top People to Follow On Twitter (IMHO)

2009-02-17T18:01:00.006-05:00

Besides following my friends on Twitter I like to follow other interesting people from all walks of life. Here are the people that I currently think have the best tweets.

1 - JasonFried - From 37Signals. His tweets stimulate my design and business senses. Plus he also adds some humor here and there.

2- KristenNicole2 - Kristen is the Queen of social media information. Tweets about the latest and greatest in social media and mixes in some personal tweets which I like b/c she is from Chicago.

3- Avinashkaushik - The Analytics Guru for Google. His tweets are insightful, thought provoking, hilarious with a dash of analytics humor (ok more than a dash). If you are serious about getting your site to perform better this is the guy to learn from.

4- Flor__- The best product/brand in the world. They just started tweeting but are doing a mix of announcing specials, telling people what they think is cool in design and just interacting with their peps. They recently launched an Outlet Store which was announced there.

5- SmashingMag - Their tweets keep you thinking about to improve your website which any person involved in a website should be thinking about constantly. And if you are not reading this blog and are doing online design/usability work go read it religiously.

Related - Twitter Professors
Follow Me on Twitter Gforst

If you have favorites feel free to leave them in the comments. I am always looking for good people to follow!

Great Presentation on Utilizing Social Media for Your Business

2009-02-16T11:53:00.002-05:00

This presentation by Josh Palau, from Avenue A/Razorfish, does an excellent job of explaining how to properly use social media as a company. One of the best presentations I have seen on integrating social media into a company.

Watch Social Search Optimization, Josh Palau, Avenue A | Razorfish in Webisodes and Game Videos | View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com

Found this b/c I am apart of the Chicago Convergence site. Which I highly recommend Chicago Marketers to join.

Expand Friends and Followers in Social Media

2009-02-16T08:30:00.001-05:00

People always want to have more friends or followers. There are many reason ego, distribution, being social and many more. But people usually hit a ceiling through traditional means (email checker, look at friends of friends etc..) so here are a few tips to get more.

1
Add your pages to your signature, blog, profiles, business cards, presentation and anything the public sees. I recommend sprucing them up a bit with a display Url that is more friendly but here are my links.

Twitter - www.twitter.com/gforst
Linkedin - www.linkedin.com/in/gforst

Facebook - www.facebook.com/people/Greg-Forst/502565050

Then my email signature looks like this

Greg Forst
www.InnovationBuzz.com
Follow me on Twitter
Linkedin Profile

I do not add my Facebook link b/c I don't like to mix to much business in my Facebook account. Something to think about but always something you can add or take away as you want.

Then if you notice in the right rail of the blog I have a link to my Twitter account and my Linkedin account.

2
If you are a business search your current customer list to see if they are using the same networks as you. Then friend them.

3
Search social networks to find people talking about your product

This is pretty straight forward if you have a product find people directly talking about your product or industry and friend them, join the group, become a fan. (Again don't lampoon the conversation) . For example if you are in the Orlando vacation package business search around for people talking about Orlando vacations, Disney vacations, Universal vacations and so on.

Searching on Twitter is a question I get a lot. Here are two sites to use.

search.twitter.com (formerly summize - Twitter bought them)
www.twitscoop.com

Also check out Filtrbox. They do the dirty work for you and email you daily on what they find.

4
Look for old colleagues out there. Think about some of those great people you have meet and try to find them.

5
In the case of twitter and blogging post good content and people will find you.

Other resource:

Kevin Rose Post on increasing Twitter Followers

5 Tips for Businesses Using Social Media

2009-01-26T12:17:00.003-05:00

1- Read the Clue Train Manifesto

This book will give you the best overview of how social media is turning business on its head. The book is $10 and it is a quick read. No excuses!

2- Don't Just Push Your Product

Companies see social media as another "channel" to sell their product and thats it. Yes social media can help you sell more products but let's see if this annoys you.

Buy My Product Buy My Product Buy My Product Buy My Product Buy My Product Buy My Product Buy My Product Buy My Product Buy My Product Buy My Product Buy My Product

As you will learn in the Clue Train Manifesto there are conversations happening out there about your products or industry and you can either join the conversation or lampoon the conversation with your selling. Obviously lampooning is not going to work longterm. The internet has truly given the consumer the power so as a company you must talk with them not at them.

3- Make it Normal Conversation

Don't use jargon or PR talk when you use social media. The term social means people use it to be social which inherently means fun. So talk with people as a human not as a company talking to a customer.

4- PR Has Changed

The old model of PR is dead. Read this post from TechCrunch. It was written for startups but it applies to almost all businesses.

5- Opposite of Nike

Don't just do it! Businesses do this all the time. Oh we need a blog, we need to twitter, we need to Digg etc... This goes down the food chain of a company and someone does all this stuff really quick just to appease the boss or whoever wanted to jump on the social media bandwagon. They just do it and it fails. I call this the H.I.P.P.O. Effect. Think your social media strategy through.

Have more tips add them to the comments!

How to Do Social Media

2009-01-26T11:50:00.003-05:00

Social media has hit the perfect storm, it is accepted in the "mainstream" and there is a recession. Weird to think about it but that is the perfect storm for businesses to jump into social media. All the talk with my senior exec friends is leveraging Facebook, Twitter, blogging etc... The main reason they are talking about social media is because it is essentially free. Which with a recession "Free" is always a good thing. That coupled with millions of people using these applications it is the perfect storm.

This perfect storm is going to produce some amazing business social media (see Burger Kings Sacrifice a Friend app) and it will create even more dreadfully awful business social media (see thousands of Facebook pages that create no value). Companies are not blind so they know they need to figure out a "strategy" for social media but they never take the time to understand it. Hence some really bad social media comes out of these companies. And this bad social media can come back to bite you in the ass.

So I am going to start posting weekly about social media - how it should be done, examples of good and bad, strategies, growing your followers and more. To start I am going to post my 5 Tips for Businesses Using Social Media.

How Barack Obama's Campaign Used Social Media

2009-01-18T22:01:00.005-05:00

We all know the buzz around how Barack Obama's campaign utilized social media to its fullest potential. And played a huge role in his victory.

Finally a big company with the time and money has done a nice brief on how they did it. Edelman, of PR fame, has created Barack Obama's Social Media Tool Kit that you can read here.

Lots of good stuff in it. One of the many gems I took from it was blogger conference calls.

Also checkout the Obama iPhone App. I thought it was pretty ingenious.

Thanks Mashable for the original find!

Google Says My Password is Weak

2009-01-14T21:00:00.005-05:00

So today I was signing into Gmail and they asked for a new password because they determined my current password was weak. I know my password is sort of weak but there are more than 6 characters and it is a mix of letters and numbers. So there are 3 things that strike me as weird.

1 - I wasn't sure if it was someone phishing

2- My wifes password is super weak if mine is weak

3- The Google tool asking for the new password rates your password (weak, strong etc...). I typed in my old password and it said was strong. Confusing i know.

So I had my wife sign into her account to see if this was just implemented and she was not asked for a new password. The only thing I can think of is the hack at Twitter was recent, which I do use.

Also I was forced to change it. Now way around it that I could find.

Anyone else getting this request?

Favorite Things 2008

2009-01-05T21:50:00.003-05:00

This is my annual post about my favorite things from the previous year. They are in no particular order.......

Orbit Baby Stroller

This stroller is amazing. I became a father in 2008 hence the stroller but seriously this thing is amazing. It is not a stroller it is a system. I see people wrestling with their strollers like a greased pig all the time and the Orbit Baby solves this problem. Here is my original post about the Orbit Baby

Top Golf Driving Range

In 2008 I officially became a golf nut. Granted golf nut does not equal good golfer. Anyways here in Chicago they opened a new golf range that is some mix of golf, darts and bowling but at a driving range. They have a wait staff that you can order food and drinks from so it is already 2 times as good as your average driving range. If you can't play golf this is next best thing. My original post, Not Your Dad's Driving Range, sums it up nicely.

Google Reader

Google Reader helps me churn through lots of information in one sitting without spending all my time my time bouncing around from site to site. Plus I have them organized in a way that lets me focus on themes. For instance I am an online marketer so all my feeds from those sites are labeled together so if I want to catch up on that stuff I read those post. If I am catching up with my friends blogs I have them grouped together. Once setup, which is easy, Google Reader really makes it easy for me to keep up with all my favorite sites. Plus it makes it simple to share things you like or think a friend might like.

Picasa Photo Software (free form Google)

The online photo world is crowded but Picasa (owned by Google and integrated with other Google products) has in my eyes set itself apart. The software is free, has easy to use features like a red eye reducer that works, a movie/slide show creator, upload to web, email option and a ton more dead simple tools. Granted I still use some other photo sites for other reasons but this is my main desktop app to keep my photos organized.

Daily Bugle Podcast

These two british guys (Andy Zaltzman and John Oliver) get me through my daily commute. They do a weekly-ish podcast about world news mostly. Andy Zaltzman is from the Colbert Report. You can subscribe to it via iTunes or here.

- This post as usually will be a two parter! I know the suspense is killing me too-

How Google Works Explained

2008-12-03T14:19:00.003-05:00

This slide show done by FaberNovel (a french consulting firm) does a tremendous job in explaining how Google makes it's money and why it has its hands in a bunch of different projects like Picasa, Android, Blogger etc...

(I couldn't make it any bigger so you may need to push the slide show screen icon in the lower right corner to make it bigger. To the right of "34")

All about Google

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: google business)

Found on TechCrunch

Financial Mess Explained (with Stick Figures)

2008-11-26T09:55:00.004-05:00

Creditcrisis 30slides Final

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: capitalism mortgage)

Here is the guy that that made these slides Sophotec.com

Another nice chart on this mess can be found at Flowing Data

GlowCaps Remind You To Take Medication

2008-11-18T13:16:00.004-05:00

David Rose, the man behind Glowcaps, is brilliant at meshing together everyday products with technology in a seemless design and execution. He is also the founder of Ambient Devices(checkout the umbrella).

The newest company, Vitality, has launched it's first product Glowcaps. There are GlowCaps Solo and GlowCaps Connect.

Glowcaps Solo is the basic version which is a cap for you medicine bottle that will blink and play a chime when you are supposed to take you medication. I can see this being very handy. Available on Amazon Now for $30.

The other product is Glowcaps Connect which is the more advanced product that connects the patient, doctor, phone and family to the pill cap. Probably best to watch the video to understand it capabilities (kinda cheesy but effective).

Introducing GlowCaps: Internet connected pillcaps from David Rose on Vimeo.

This is surely the future in connecting the medical world, technology and the patient.

How to Inspire Creativity

2008-11-16T12:17:00.003-05:00

Tim Brown the CEO of IDEO gives a great speech about how to inspire creativity and innovation. It seems that our whole lifes are about learning rules to limit our creativity. Lots of great interactive ways to breakdown those rules.

Ben Stein & All Talking Heads Should be Fired

2008-11-14T10:53:00.004-05:00

Here is some Monday morning quarterbacking but Peter Schiff as seen in these clips was one of the few people who saw this recession coming (Nasim Taleb being another). It is hilarious to see these other talking heads poo-pooing his dose of reality.

What everyone should take away from this is do your own research, form your own opinions and don't just be a lemming. (example - my neighbor got an ARM for his mortgage it must be safe, Oh Ben Stein on Fox recommends Merrill Lynch sounds safe to me etc...).

Credit to Signal vs Noise for finding this video

Americans Need to take the Change Movement to Congress Now

2008-11-13T14:07:00.003-05:00

Change does not start or end with electing Barack to office but it surely helps. To continue this energy of Americans wanting to take an active role in our country we must get our congressmen to start voting in our best interest and not voting in the interest of lobbyist. The Change Congress Movement is making this happen. This movement can be summarized as this:

1. I will no longer accept contributions from lobbyists or corporate political action committees.
2. I will work to support the fundamental reform of earmarks in Congress.
3. I will support reform to increase transparency in Congress.
4. I will support public financing of public elections.

The first step is for us the voters to pester our representatives to take this pledge, which can quickly and easily be done here. If you need motivation watch the video below.

Forget the Great Depression - Most Difficult Time Since the American Revolution

2008-10-24T18:14:00.004-04:00

Nasssim Taleb has warned of 2 companies sitting on mounds of risk waiting to fail

"In December he lectured bankers at Société Générale, France’s second biggest bank. He told them they were sitting on a mountain of risks – a menagerie of black swans. They didn’t believe him. Six weeks later the rogue trader and black swan Jérôme Kerviel landed them with $7.2 billion of losses." (from business.timesonline.co.uk)
"Likewise, the government-sponsored institution Fannie Mae, when I look at their risks, seems to be sitting on a barrel of dynamite, vulnerable to the slightest hiccup. But not to worry, their large staff of scientists deem these events 'unlikely.'" (from his book the Black Swan)

I would like to note before I type more that Nassim also believes in positive black swans. (see my old post, Investing for Home runs, to learn about what a Black Swan is)

Nassim says he has trouble sleeping at night because he believes we could, we could be in the most difficult time in history since the American Revolution. As an optimist one would like to take this sound bite with a grain of salt but if we look at his track record the man has been correct on some pretty big things. And as of October 14th the investment firm that Nassim advises has gained 50% or more this year (from Bloomberg). Note that Nassim is quoted as saying ``I am very sad to be vindicated,''. One of the many interesting thoughts in these articles and videos is that he mentions the idea of banks becoming more like utilities (see the Time article). Here are some links to recent videos and articles that give you more insight.

Video of PBS Segment w/ Nassim Taleb and Benoit Mandelbrot.

Article from Time.com

And a recent video of Nassim Taleb pretty fired up about this fiasco.

Here's to hoping a nice positive Black Swan will follow this humongous negative one!

A nice tie into this financial meltdown is the Dunning-Krueger Effect, read my post called Ignorance Grows Confidence to learn about it.

One more nice connection is the book Hot, Flat & Crowded, which also hits on the notion that the world economy is one economy now.

Commercial Viral Video Done Right!

2008-09-26T13:48:00.004-04:00

I couldn't embed the video here because the whole youtube interface is needed for the experience. This is really a brilliant use for a viral video. Not sure the cost but definitely innovative.

www.youtube.com/experiencewii

Other online marketers should take note and starting thinking outside the box. In this case literally.

Shout out to Techcrunch where I found this.

Not a Longterm Solution (the graphic)

2008-09-25T23:31:00.004-04:00

Full story here from Architecture203

Why We Drink in a Flow Chart!

2008-09-22T14:20:00.001-04:00

Shout out to Flowchart for finding this!

What is the Deal with Gates and Seinfeld?

2008-09-17T09:33:00.005-04:00

Microsoft has started a new ad campaign which has Bill Gates and Jerry Seinfeld in them. These are being produced in response to 2 things 1- Obviously the Apple commercials Mac vs PC and 2- The supposed perception out there that Microsofts new Vista operating system sucks.
The ads are below and after them I discuss the possible thought processes behind the commercials.

Ad Number One

Ad Number 2

There are two theories that are interesting to me.

Metaphors and Easter Eggs (Geek Trickle Down)
The theory is that geeks will get lots of these easter eggs and metaphors in the commercials thus drawing them into the commercials. Then the geeks will have renewed interest in Vista and it will trickle down as people ask them for their opinions or help. The most obvious easter egg is the pic of Bill Gates on his shoe club card which was taken from his mugshot. (I think he was arrested for speeding and driving with out a license)

The metaphors that are out there (note I have not researched this at all) are that the grandma represents Steve Jobs. The grandma says she has been in the house for 12 years and I have read that that is how long Jobs has been back in the saddle at Apple. The grandma is also fixing the car in the second commercial which the connection/stretch is that Jobs is the only one who can do anything at Apple. Hence the stock price being so jumpy when his health is brought up.

Elitist Apple/Common Man Microsoft (Political Strategy)
The thought here is that the Mac/PC commercials from Apple come off as elitist. They bash the common man's operating system. And hip cool people use Macs. So as you see in the commercial Jerry tells Gates the reason they are doing this is because they are out of touch. To get back in touch with their roots they need to live with regular folks since they are rich and famous.

My Theory (Build Buzz, Smack in Face with Solutions)
People are blogging and talking about these commercials like crazy and so far only 2 are out there. Granted most of the talk is about how they are meaningless and do nothing to sell Vista. But people cannot wait for the next one to come out. Consumers are drawn in. As the next set of commercials roll out they will slowly bring in why Vista is awesome but also still take jabs at Jobs and drop in easter eggs. Also note Microsoft is running other ads about Mojave (watch them here).

In the end I am not sure the cost will bare out enough benefit. It is rumored they paid Jerry $10mil to do the commercials. But if Microsoft would have sat on the sidelines while Apple continued to throw punches in their commercials it would have gotten embarrassing. Microsoft has the money to blow so I think they are doing the right thing by going big!

PS - I hope George, Elaine, Kramer or Newman make cameos.

Greatest Pics with Clouds Ever

2008-09-13T00:49:00.003-04:00

Credit to PhotoJoJo for bring this to my attention

Ignorance Grows Confidence?!

2008-09-08T15:02:00.005-04:00

I know it sounds like opposite day but we all know someone whether a co-worker, boss, friend or uncle that knows absolutely nothing but is so confident they some how trick people into thinking they know what the hell they are talking about. Well now there is something to call it the Dunning-Kruger Effect. The wikipedia article is pretty funny and the references appear to be legit.

Here is a taste"
1- Incompetent individuals tend to overestimate their own level of skill.
2- Incompetent individuals fail to recognize genuine skill in others.
3- Incompetent individuals fail to recognize the extremity of their inadequacy.
4- If they can be trained to substantially improve their own skill level, these individuals can recognize and acknowledge their own previous lack of skill."

The thing I think about when I read this is digging past the surface when talking with someone. Anyone can drop names and speak the jargon but the real question is can the person execute, lead, learn and develop new ideas. It is a tough thing to really pull out of a short conversation especially when someone is confident. But once you see a person in action over 2-6 months you will know if the Dunning-Kruger Effect is occurring.

Not Your Dad's Driving Range

2008-09-02T10:35:00.002-04:00

TopGolf is the newest innovation in golf and let me tell you it is amazing. This new driving range is a mix of a driving range, darts and bowling. As you can see from the pic of my neighbor you are hitting like you would at a normal driving range, but the the targets are sectioned off similar to a dart board. It is similar to bowling in that you share a bay with your friends, rotate shots and score is kept.

The technology works in that each ball you hit has a chip in it and knows you hit it. Then if you do score a point in one of the targets you are awarded those points on the screen.

There are a couple different games you can play. Check out the website for descriptions.

The other area that sets the complex apart from a normal driving range is that they have waitresses that come around and serve you drinks and food. They also have the usual stuff like a pro shop, loaner clubs and lessons. Oh yeah one more thing they have is special rooms for parties that you can rent. These rooms have a couple of bays to play from, flat screens, foosball and table top shuffle board (at least the one outside Chicago did.) Would be great for a bachelor party!

Highly recommend checking it out! Currently only 3 locations in the US but I hear they have big plans to expand.

The Holes in an Elite Education

2008-08-07T14:32:00.007-04:00

A couple of weeks ago I came across this great article called The Disadvantages of an Elite Education, from The American Scholar (highly recommend reading it) which flips the traditional view of an elite education on its head or at a minimum turns it sideways. The writer a graduate of an Ivy League college examines the social implications of getting an education at an elite school and how that applies to the real world. Things like not knowing how to interact with blue collar workers, making you risk averse, mediocrity, asking small questions and an elitist attitude/lifestyle are brought to light.

Obviously painted with a broad brush but none the less a brain twister. As I read the article I could apply some of these trappings to my own experiences with my non-elite degree. More so I thought of an article in the Wall Street Journal about how "Most CEOs of the biggest corporations didn't attend Ivy League or other highly selective colleges." (article here).

There are many many positives to an elite education but connecting these two articles scratches the surface of stating that an elite education is not the end all be all of an education. So the next time you are interviewing a candidate or are impressed with a colleague's degree think about asking some extra questions to see if the traditional educational holes these articles hit on are present.

Fun with Kangaroos - Hilarious

2008-07-23T14:12:00.000-04:00

See How Walmart Grew on a Map

2008-07-23T14:05:00.003-04:00

This is a great visual representation of data. This map starts from Walmart's launch then adds dots for every Walmart Store year by year. Nothing surprising, Walmart's are everywhere, but an innovative way to visually show data.

The Link

Stop the War Through Schools

2008-07-16T09:56:00.004-04:00

Just read this great Op-Ed Column in the NyTimes about one man's approach to changing Pakistan and Afghanistan. Greg Mortenson is attacking the core of the problem which is comparable to the gang problems in the US, education. The Taliban recruits the poor and illiterate so the obvious long term solution is help educate the people. Greg Mortenson has created the Central Asia Institute for this purpose. Check out the article it is very enlightening.

He also has a book called Three Cups of Tea

Webcam Helps Your Grandparents Emotionally

2008-07-11T15:32:00.002-04:00

Great story on how you can use a webcam to connect with your grandparents. Story

Real Traffic Data on Your Car's GPS Unit

2008-06-23T22:01:00.002-04:00

I have played around with a few in car GPS units and they are all pretty much the same. They give you directions visually and via audio, they can tell you where the closest gas station (with price) is or where the nearest White Castle is and you can program it with preset destinations. Don't get me wrong those features are very cool but Dash has raised the bar. Dash is the smart GPS unit.

Dash does all the things a normal GPS unit does but does it with real time data. The Dash unit constantly sends traffic data out from your car which is shared with other Dash units out there. So the traffic data your unit receives is from other units actually on the road. Normal GPS units receive data from sensors on the highway then do some math to estimate travel times. This is the same type of data your local tv traffic person uses. (Ever notice those estimates are never quite right). Another differentiator is that it not only gives you data for the major highways but for side streets as well. It brings traffic data to every street.

I am sure the first question you are asking is doesn't mass acceptance have to happen to really make this thing powerful. Yes and no. Mass acceptance is not needed put helps with the data. I spoke to a Dash rep at the last TechCocktail and I think they said 1000 in large city like Chicago is a good number (might have been fewer though). And guess what Chicago has well over 1000 units in the city so you get some good data. Obviously smaller cities would need a smaller number. Then if your city doesn't have enough units in the area yet it also gets the old fashioned data regular GPS units get. The price is comparable to the other units as well.

Lastly Dash has an open source platform which means any company or entrepreneur could create an applicaiton for it. Some apps already developed are access you Outlook, Gmail or other calendars from the unit, see where speed traps are or look up the weather forecast. I am sure a ton more cool apps are coming.

Here is a review from Walt Mossberg. The review is old so he says the unit is $400 but it is $299 on Amazon

The unit has some other unique features so check it out!

Fill Up 10 Times a Year!

2008-06-19T14:02:00.004-04:00

Obviously lots of talk about gas in last couple of months. This talk has lead me to researching what my options are for a car with better gas mileage. A couple things that I have read over at EcoGeek have the value of Hybrids going up. The tried and true knock against the hybrid is the extra cost isn't recouped for 7 years or more. But the perfect storm of oil prices being way up and technology finally coming to market means that in as little as 2 years you could recoup the extra cost.

Basically battery technology is the main catalyst. Hymotion is releasing a battery next month that will allow the Prius to get 100 MPG. Yep 100 MPG. (details at EcoGeek) Do some quick math - The Prius has a 10 gallon tank, say you drive 10,000 miles a year that means you only fill your tank up 10 times in a year! Wrap your head around that! I fill up my tank at a minimum of 2 times a month. 24+ times a year.

Of course this battery cost a nice chunk of change $10,000. First to market products are always pricey, so this will price will come down.

One solution I have been studying is purchasing a used Prius and installing one of these batteries. While I was looking at some listings for a used Prius I was thinking how many of the odometer miles are engine miles and how many are electric miles. This question will be asked more and more in the coming years.

Anyways the convergence of this battery technology and high oil prices makes the hybrid a much more attractive solution.

Other Links
Toyota Invest $192mil in Battery Plant

Wii Remote for Any Game!

2008-06-12T13:55:00.002-04:00

Found this over on TechCrunch. This company, CamSpace, has created software that works with a standard web cam, video games and anything for a controller. Really anything. Turn anything into your Wii controller. Watch the video. But just think Air Guitar Hero.

Job Seeking with a Shirt

2008-06-10T17:42:00.003-04:00

This guy has taken self promotion in job seeking to a new level and actually found a way to make money on the side. www.DamnINeedAJob.com - This job seeker made a shirt with this graphic on it then on the back he did a quick description of his skills. He figured enough people see him on a daily basis that eventually someone would read his shirt that was in need of his skills. On top of being a creative way to find a job, he now sales the Damn I Need A Job shirts with the caveat you customize the back with your skills.

Not exactly clear if he got a job from this but shows that outside the box thinking can be applied anywhere!

Stanford+Ideo+Stroller = Really Cool Baby Stroller

2008-06-06T00:34:00.003-04:00

Design, engineering, ethnography and baby strollers have finally come together. My friend, Sachin, gets the credit for turning me on to the Orbit Baby. The system, yep it is a system, was designed by two dads that went to Stanford, worked at Ideo together and then left to start Orbit Baby. The long and the short of it is the Orbit Baby was designed to fix the pain points of strollers, car seats and bassinets.

Some high high points for me are:
- Easily being able to put the car seat in the base because the circular base allows you to put the seat in naturally then turn it to the proper direction. (see video below)
- One hand to break it down. I was in the parking lot at the grocery store yesterday and saw a mom using both hands and her foot to break down her big nice looking stroller. Then I watched her wrestle it into her car. The Orbit is light and breaks down with one hand (watch video)
- 2 year warranty.

Some people are scared off by the cost but if you are looking at the Bugaboo,Bob or other strollers at that level the Orbit is in the that price range. Hint add up the cost of all the pieces you have to buy.

Here is the video (not to keen on the music)

If you get a chance to play with the Orbit Baby in a store I highly recommend it.

Investing for Homeruns

2008-06-03T22:06:00.003-04:00

I am reading this very interesting book called The Black Swan, which in a nut shell states the world is more random than we think. As humans we have to have a narrative to explain events, history, tragedy etc... because without it we go crazy. I highly recommend it! Read the reviews to get the real gist of it. Here is an excerpt of a review-

"Nassim argues that most of the really big events in our world are rare and unpredictable, and thus trying to extract generalizable stories to explain them may be emotionally satisfying, but it's practically useless."

This book has actually helped me clarify my investing style and business style. Which is to be apart of things that have the potential to be huge, a positive black swan. In the book he gives an example of the banking sector that for the most part doesn't have positive black swans they may have steady gains but they are very susceptible to negative black swans, like a run on the bank or the mortgage crisis. You rarely hear about one event giving a bank a huge revenue bump (besides buy another bank).

So the theory (if you can call it that) is to invest in companies that are positioned to have positive black swans. Granted you have more risk of loss but if you spread the risk over multiple stocks one will be a homerun and cover the small losses of the other companies. It is very similar to the theory behing VC investing. A bunch of small loses and 1 or 2 huge gains.

Here is a hodge podge of areas, technologies and companies I am either invested in or looking to invest in that I think have great potential for positive black swans:

genetics, cord banking, genetic mapping, alternative energy, solar energy, wind energy, mercado libre - Meli (the ebay of latin america), Corning - GLW, online marketing and online analytics.

To get some ideas I recommend reading the MIT Technology Review.

Dean Kamen Does It Again!

2008-05-30T17:02:00.003-04:00

This video follows the theme of nothing is impossible from an earlier post!

The Decision Making Process on a Presidential Level

2008-05-28T20:30:00.004-04:00

I want to push a concept/process and not political views or judgement. Last month I took the time to watch the PBS Special called Bush's War, which is available online for your viewing. It takes a hard look at how we got into the Iraq War. I highly recommend watching it because it of course shows the why but even more than that it shows you the process of how such decisions are made in the White House. (PBS broke up the show into easily digestible clips of 10 minutes. It took me 2 weeks to watch them all.)

This insight into the process of how such a huge decision is made is intriguing and even more intriguing during an election year. George Bush, as any leader of a large organization, places certain people around him to help him make intelligent decisions. In the end the responsibility, or face, of a decision is on the president/leader. The president has to be the filter to find the truth and to do that in a large complicated organization is no easy task. Listening and questioning are key but also knowing the back office ego driven maneuvering is integral. Decisions at any level are extremely hard because humans are wired to make decision or place blame instantly (see Blink). Great leaders need to be open to being convinced against their biases, which is no easy task.

To really understand why the president must have these skills you have to look at the results of these decisions on a human level. Which like any government/organization the US government would rather us not see the negative results of these decisions. But today's generation demands to have access to all information and technology allows it. Body War is a documentary that shows the cold hard results of this one decision. Below is the trailer for the movie. (On a side note the soundtrack is stacked with talent Eddie Vedder,Neil Young, Bruce Springsteen, Rage Against the Machine, Public Enemy, Ben Harper and a ton more - Album).

I have not seen the documentary yet but am going this weekend. From the clips shown on Bill Moyer's Show the process on how congress made their decision will be just as interesting. So no matter what your political views are take a moment and think about who you want to be president. Can they surround themselves with smart people with opposing views, can they listen, can they question, can they ignore their bias and can they lead.

If you aren't registered to vote go here now!

Ever Think Something is Impossible!

2008-05-23T10:07:00.002-04:00

If you ever think you can't do something or something is to hard, think about this blind skate boarder!

Your options are only limited by your will and imagination.

Don't Forget to Call your Mom on Sunday!

2008-05-06T19:50:00.001-04:00

In case you forgot - Treat Your Mother Right!

RC Card + Wine Bottles = Mario Theme

2008-04-15T21:40:00.002-04:00

Don't know much about the guys/girls behind this but it is pretty amazing. I wonder what took longer setting up the wine bottles or drinking the wine.

Solving the Worlds Water Problems on Colbert

2008-04-15T13:38:00.001-04:00

Once they get the production cost of these systems down the results world wide will be amazing!

Chicago Public Transit and Google?

2008-04-08T13:36:00.003-04:00

Now you can get public transit directions using Google Maps. You were always able to do this on the CTA website but it was kinda clunky plus it just makes more sense to incorporate the data into a more used map. This is a great partnership and it will be even better when other public transit systems are incorporated (hint hint Metra Rail).

Below is the video that explains how it works.

Now Thats A Performance!

2008-03-26T09:06:00.002-04:00

I have to give John Mayer's blog credit for finding this. This is way to good to not post. Enjoy!

iPhone - Modern Day Swiss Army Knife

2008-03-08T14:17:00.004-05:00

I have an iPhone and have had it since the Fall of 2007. My wife surprised me with it for my birthday. Obviously I had admired the device and wanted one but was practical about it and told myself to wait, save the $, your BlackBerry works fine etc...

But now that I have one it would be hard to go back to a regular phone. The iPhone is more than a phone obviously but I use its other applications just as much or more than the actual phone.
Here is the list of things I use outside of the phone and texting.

- Email (personal and work)
- Google Maps
- Camera
- Music Player
- Video Player
- Surf the internet easily and quickly (wifi)

The phone has more functions but as you can see it is a swiss army knife. If I am lost I can use the map to find out where I am. If I want to see how Fred Funk did today in the Honda Classic I can check the leaderboard via the internet. If I want to take a pic of my silly dog and email it to my mom I use the camera and email. If I want to listen to some new music or a podcast on my drive to work use the iPod function. The list goes on and on.

But the iPhone has really opened my eyes to what the rest of the world is doing with mobile. Outside of the US more people access the internet from their phone than from a computer. Think about that. The internet is distributed to almost everyone then, not just to those with a computer. Major shifts will be happening in the US mobile market due to things like the iPhone, Google Android, and the FCC opening up the spectrum. The old system of being dictated by your carrier (ATT, TMobile etc..) what you can and can't do on your phone will be gone. I can't wait!

The Latest Insight in Tech

2008-03-08T14:00:00.002-05:00

Every so often I check out Charlie Rose's site for interesting interviews, which by the way are posted free on his site. But recently I found out that two Tech journalist/pundits/insiders where interviewed, Michael "TechCrunch" Arrington and Chris "Wired/Longtail" Anderson. They gave some very clear and poignant answers on the state of technology globally, in the US and where things are headed. I highly recommend viewing these if you are a business person, entrepreneur, geek, nerd or want to get a peak at how our future will look with technology.

TechCocktail all Growsed Up!!

2008-02-23T18:27:00.003-05:00

TechCocktail, which started in Chicago, has become the main tech social event outside of Silicon Valley. They now host events in Chicago (of course), Boulder, Boston and DC. All great tech communities need an event like this to bring the community together.

I have met Eric and Frank in passing before and they seem like great guys and continue to grow TechCocktail. There latest expansion for TechCocktail is a conference.

The conference is in Chicago on May 29th and some great speakers are coming from companies like Feedburner, 37Signals, TicketsNow (my former employer), Wine Library TV and EveryBlock. Tickets are on sale now!

The Cause Of Problems in Washington

2008-02-23T18:21:00.003-05:00

As everyone knows this years presidential race has been one of the most watched and participated in. Which is why the ideas discussed in this video by Lawrence Lesig may take root. The concept that Lessig uses to fix our government is not new but it has never been applied or it has never had a grass roots movement behind it to make the concept actually take hold.

How do you find this Stuff?

2008-02-16T23:44:00.002-05:00

I get asked this question a lot. I share links and stories with lots of people and sometimes they are weird, funny, informative and sometimes way out there. This link being the most recent I shared with my family and got that question. (Warning F-bombs are used in the Craigslist post that link takes you to.)

There are mainly 3 ways I come across these gems.

1- Old Faithful - Someone forwards the link to me.

2- I happen across the story in my daily surfing.

3- My new favorite Google Reader.

The name Google Reader is boring and it may lose some people on their initial browse over. Google Reader aggregates the news/information of your choice from the internet. For example lets say you read Chicagoist, Techcrunch, own stock in Google and want to watch Ebay for new Hannah Montana Tickets. Now to do all those things you have to go to 4 sites at a minimum. Instead of that you create an account with Google reader, tell it what feeds (sites) you want it to aggregate then it will bring that data in for you. So you just have to go to one site to get all the info you want.

To find out more here are some links
Google Reader
The Tour
Google Reader Blog

Lastly lots of my friends have started blogs recently which is awesome but keeping up with them is tough because they write sporadically. Solution I add them to my reader and never miss a post.

$1 TriPod, Seriously

2008-02-10T12:27:00.000-05:00

Ok I am getting heavy with the video in my posts but this is to good to pass up. As posted earlier I have a resolution to take more photos this year but thru out my amateur photography career I found I do not have a steady hand (especially when it is 20 below). Obviously a tripod fixes this but who can lug one of those around everywhere. This video provides an innovative solution.

$1 Image Stabilizer For Any Camera - Lose The Tripod - For more amazing video clips, click here

TV Japense Style - Monkey and a Bulldog

2008-02-03T22:43:00.001-05:00

I am not sure who comes up with stuff but it is pure genius. This video is a taste of the series of videos with a bulldog and a monkey (search it on youtube.com). Some other favorites are this fireman training video and the monkey with multiple bulldogs.

Update: Here is the wiki on Pankun (monkey) and James (bulldog). Search Pankun and James on Google or Youtube for more hilarity.

The Future of Google Streetview

2008-01-29T21:21:00.000-05:00

Everyone has thought this but these guys made the video. (I like Google but it is kinda creepy)

Having Fun in Your Office?

2008-01-29T21:17:00.000-05:00

I am a big believer in enjoying your work and a big part of that is the company culture. This video is from the workers at College Humor.

Lip Dub - Flagpole Sitta by Harvey Danger from amandalynferri on Vimeo.

Part II of 2007 Favorites

2008-01-18T10:42:00.000-05:00

This is the second part of my 2007 Favorite sites, products, foods and whatever else. Part one is here.

- VRBO - Vacation Rental by Owner. The concept is that millions of people own vacation homes but are not there all the time so why not rent it. Pretty basic but this site has the largest amount of rentals I could find. The sites layout could use an upgrade but it gets the job done for now. I highly recommend this if you are going on vacation and looking for a nice, well priced place. I just used it for a golf trip to Arizona.

-
- Apple TV My father-in-law got this for Christmas and it is pretty cool. You get your music, photos and movies available on your tv. Which I think we all knew was going to happen but the real kicker for me was the availability of YouTube on it. It is pretty addicting to sit around with friends and watch hilarious videos. You also can sign into your YouTube account to view your favorites. Google is sort of getting into this as well, link.
This is just the tip of the iceberg for bringing the computer and home together.

- TWIT - This Week in Tech which is a great podcast about, well the happenings in tech over the the past week. Pretty straight forward. Great content. I have been starting to get into Podcast more lately. They are free and many popular content creators have them (Comedy Central, Economist...)

- Ricky Gervais - He is my new favorite comedian. He is was the creator of the original Office from the UK, his most recent show was Extras on HBO which he just one a Golden Globe for. Which is his third. Here is a clip of his standup from YouTube (note he is doing standup in the LA and NY this year)

Favorites of 2007 (part I)

2008-01-15T22:45:00.000-05:00

I love list so here is some of my favorite sites, foods, products and whatever else I liked in 2007 (in no particular order)

- Flickr - I finally embraced the photo sharing site and am loving it. I am still trying to figure out the line between what photos I should make public and what is private. I have leaned towards the private side but if you want full access let me know and I will invite you in as a friend. Here is my public page for now.

- Mint.com - By far the future or personal financial management. See previous post

- Kuma's Corner - My new favorite bar and burger in Chicago.

- NAU - Don't know their whole story but their apparel is well designed and they have a great mission. They "balance beauty, performance and sustainability." I got the anti-michelin man jacket. They are having a huge sale right now!

- Google Reader - I just got turned on this this tool. Basically it aggregates all the recent post or stories from the sites you tell it. So instead of me jumping around to 20+ sites a day reading I just come to my Google Reader. I read a ton before I used reader, so you can only imagine how much more I am taking in now. I am getting close to a saturation point. Google Reader will be a full blown post soon.

Time for bed but there will be a second part to this list later!

2008 Resolutions

2008-01-15T22:23:00.000-05:00

1 - Blog more consistently. I know very few people read this but it is a nice release. I need to start a personal one.

2- Take more pics. I got a sweet camera for xmas (Canon G9). It is the closet to a digital SLR as you can get. One of the hardest things about amateur photography is getting ideas and motivation. I highly recommend Photojojo for some great ideas.

3- Take more video and share them. This one is tougher b/c most of the time home videos suck. Open to suggestions here!

4- Be greener! Just found this site Re-Nest which is a sister site to Apartment Therapy. It is a real interest blog on how to be green. It is not all hippie dippie (there is some) but there is some real cool products and applications to be green. (Just winterized the condo last weekend)

Web 2.0 Explained With Text

2008-01-15T22:18:00.000-05:00

Pretty intense!

Financial Tracking Made Easy

2007-10-01T21:45:00.000-04:00

Lots of great companies have launched since my last post but Mint has really brought something amazing to the table. Basically they bring all your online finances to one place. Which is cool but they take it to the next level with the hook. They categorize all your transactions automatically but then tell you how to save money.

In my account they told me of a savings account with a better interest rate and they told me of a credit card with a better APR. Granted without the miles. The site automatically signs in to your accounts and grabs the data. The site is secure and has agreements with tons of financial institutions. (Except Scottrade, which I hope is on the way). Lots of other great features as well.

The site is still in beta but has lots of potential. The one thing my wife liked was that it showed where we stacked up against others. I highly recommend Mint.com.

Rent and Buy Movies for your Tivo via Amazon

2007-03-22T13:59:00.001-04:00

This joint venture between Amazon and Tivo has been rumored for awhile but it has now come to fruition. If you have Tivo you can now purchase and rent movies from Amazon and they are downloaded directly to your Tivo. You have to first r egister your Tivo through Amazon then you can search through all the movies and tv shows available on Amazon. When you rent a movie you have it for thirty days. The other great thing about the service is that you can delete the show from you Tivo but Amazon will store the copy for you. Which means you can re-download the show later. This option allows you to free up space on your Tivo when needed without completely losing your shows. It says it take 30 minutes per hour of a show. I purchased my show from my computer at work and when I got home it was on my Tivo. Very convenient if you know you want to watch a movie when you get home.

Not every movie and show is available yet but I am sure they are coming. Here are some of the recent selections and prices. Oh yeah if you sign now you get $15 free.

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Skinny Corp's Way Of Doing Business

2007-02-26T13:35:00.001-05:00

I happened upon this great (yet long 45min) presentation by Skinny Corp, the founders of Threadless. The presentation really breaks down the community aspect of the Web 2.0 period we are in. These guys, I think they are speaking at Stanford, lay out their thoughts on how to make money on the internet. Straightforward create something that is fun, listen to your community, reward your community etc.... For those that say this is a naive approach do some research on the revenues Threadless is making. Also checkout that these guys are self made no outside institutional investors.

I highly recommend this video if you have or are launching a web 2.0 company or trying to create a community around your company. I know I jotted down a couple ideas that apply to somethings I am doing.

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Toolbar for Job Seekers and Joining NewWebsites

2007-02-18T17:01:00.001-05:00

The Google Toolbar for FireFox is truly useful. My two favorite features being AutoFill and AutoLink. AutoFill is the best tool for job seekers who always have to re-type there name, address, phone etc... every time they apply for a job. Push the AutoFill button and it does it automatically. Now you do have to setup the AutoFill by typing in your information but only once. It is also great for joining new sites or ordering goods online.

The AutoLink is another straight forward tool. You push the AutoLink button and it creates a link for any of the following information on the site you are viewing

Street Addresses
* DHL, FedEx, UPS and USPS tracking numbers
* Book or publication ISBN
* Automobile VIN

I have only used the street address AutoLink which creates a link to the location on Goolge Maps.

The toobar has a ton of other funtions but these two are my favorite so far. Both of these tools are time savers and I highly recommend it for those using FireFox.

You can download it here from Google

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Free Shipping at Threadless....

2007-02-12T18:12:00.001-05:00

Well I shouldn't say free but if you are in Chicago you can stop in Threadless.com's sweet office space (see pics taken from my phone below). You can come into their office space at 4043 North Ravenswood, Chicago, IL and purchase shirts from their computers and they bring them right out to you. My friend Mike, from AudioSnacks, got a hoodie and I got an amazing t-shirt.

The space has a ping pong table, pool table, arcade frame with tons of games, a photo booth, big screen tv with accompanying gaming systems, offices some where, t-shirt warehouse, a small airstream RV that appears to be a DJ booth (no pic) plus they sell t-shirts.

If you don't know about Threadless check out the wiki about them and this post reasons why Threadless Rules. Also they announced a brick and mortar store will be opening this summer on Broadway and Diversy so stay tuned. With other cities to follow.

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Chicago Link Love

2007-02-08T22:56:00.001-05:00

WindyBits is a new Chicago blog centered on tech but feeds you stories related to Chicago that I find rather entertaining

. Uncle John Project is a great photo project with amazing photos and a great back story. I highly recommend this site if you are looking to add some great inexpensive art to your home.

DoGooder.tv has set it's sights on becoming the first niche video sharing and networking site for non-profits. You can liken it to the YouTube for non-profits but with features focused on the non-profit community. They are early in their development but the concept sounds very intriguing and the management looks top notch.

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Top Ten Things Overheard at TechCocktail 3

2007-02-06T14:31:00.001-05:00

10 - Man, this reminds me of the first Internet boom!!

9 - Want a green gum ball from SingleHop?

8 - What doesn't Neuros OSD do?

7 - I heard the founder of AudioSnacks.com was served one too many green martinis.

6 - So I got his idea (fill in the idea) and with $2 million it will be the next (MySpace, Google, YouTube, Ebay etc...)

5 - I was just interviewed by BusinessPOV. I hope I didn't sound stupid.

4 - Who's paying for all this?

3 - Is that really the line for the coat check?

2 - Can I have your business card and can you say your name into this recorder?

1 - Who is the guy that keeps asking me for my business card and putting his recorder in my face?

I had a great time at TechCocktail 3 and look forward to the next one. Feel free to add what you overheard in the comments.

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Become Productive with Your Computer

2007-02-05T17:31:00.001-05:00

Have you ever noticed how much time you waste switching between programs on your computer. It may appear that it only takes 4 seconds to open up Excel or Word, but the way in which we humans use computers actually waste time and causes us to lose focus. The example that the guys at Humanized give is that if you are in Photoshop and adding text. You can't spell check from with in Photoshop so you have to then open word, copy the text over spell check it, then copy the text back over to Photoshop. With Humanized's product Enzo Words the above problem is solved. Their program allows you to spellcheck with a keyboard short from within almost any program. This allows you to spellcheck on the fly as well as keep focused on what you are creating. Other features include word count, define, and thesaurus. All great features.

The other product they currently have is Enzo Launcher which allows you to open files or applications without digging through the layers of your computer (My Documents/My Word Files/Resume.doc). It also allows you to open up websites on the fly with keyboard shortcuts and allows the system to learn your verbage for shortcuts.

Their website is really well done. It is clean and has nice video tutorials to show what the products actually do, which is great. They are currently offerring a 30 day free trial of both products and have some other products in the pipeline.

See one of the founder give his 60 Second pitch at BusinessPOV

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Sweet Home Chicago Love

2007-02-01T13:03:00.001-05:00

Here are some interesting Chicago companies and websites I have come into contact with lately.

TechSocial - The Chicago Tech Scenes Calendar of Events

timeXchange.net - A FREE online timesheet for people and teams. Lots of potential in this product.

SavoGroup - "Sales Enablement on Demand" Lots of big clients and lots of traction.

BrainTree Financial - "A boutique payment processing firm."

Humanized - Simplify the way you interact with your computer (post coming on this)

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Scan, Copy and Fax with Your Cell Phone

2007-01-26T14:26:00.001-05:00

Every been in a situation where you wished you had a scanner handy. Well you do in your cell phone. ScanR allows you to take a picture of a document, business card or white board with your cell phone then you send it to ScanR, they convert it to a PDF and it is then emailed back to you. The PDF is searchable because they use OCR (optical character recognition). You can also use a digital camera. The one requirement for your camera phone is that it is 2 mega-pixels in resolution. Almost forgot it is Free

Here are a couple of different situations in which ScanR could be valuable:

1- You have a meeting at a coffee shop or restaraunt the other person is showing you some documents that you really need copies of pronto. Of course no copy machine is present. You proceed to take a picture of the document with your phone and send it to ScanR. A couple minutes later your Blackberry (or whatever device) gets a new email with the document. You then can forward the document to your boss or include it in your file.

2- You are in a meeting doing some great brainstorming but you need to erase the white board to move the meeting forward. Instead of losing the great work on the white board you snap a picture, send to ScanR so you can include it in the file for future reference.

3- Your at home and about to send a rebate form into for your new TV but you don't have a copy machine to make a copy for your records. No problem, whip out the camera, take the pic, send it to ScanR and you now have a copy.

The list is endless.

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Book Networking

2007-01-17T22:41:00.001-05:00

I am sure everyone has thought about this concept but it appears Shelfari is taking a crack at book sharing and networking. I like to share what books I am reading on my blog but boring text links, are boring, Amazon affilate links are a little better but cumbersome to share them all, but it appears Shelfari is one step closer. Here is my current shelf which I will be testing on my sidebar

It was simple to add books, you just simply search. It isn't exactly fun but does meet the ends to my needs. And as you update your shelf on Shelfari it automatically updates my list on the blog. Now if you are a big reader this site will probably interest you more. You can join discussions about the books, create a network and much more.

Now it is still beta so I am sure there are bugs. The only thing I noticed so far was the search was a little slow but it did get mentioned on LifeHacker earlier today, which can overload your site. My one wish would be to let me in on the affilate action when people buy books from my shelf. Which is exactly why Amazon should be doing something like this or acquiring Shelfari if it takes off.

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New Online Television Startup (Beta )

2007-01-15T23:21:00.002-05:00

This was reported from TechCrunch, so go there for more details. But from the looks of these screen shots I am intriqued. This was known in the community as the Venice Project being headed by the founders of Skype, Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis. And it appears since TechCrunch discovered the official name was going to be Joost the site has announced it officially. They are taking on beta testers now and want to launch this year. Stay tuned.

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$20.65 billion Spent Online in 12 Days - How Much Did Your Company Get

2007-01-09T22:14:00.001-05:00

This years online holiday sales stats are pretty impressive and companies should take note. Companies that depend on the holiday season for huge revenues need to evaluate their online marketing strategies and allign them with where their consumers are buying. The first 48 days of the holiday season approximately $20.65 billion dollars were spent online. This is an increase of 25% over last year.

Top 12 Days of 2006 Holiday E-Commerce Shopping, November 1 to December 18
Rank	Date	E-Commerce Spending (Millions)
1	Wednesday, December 13	$666.9
2	Monday, December 11	$660.8
3	Monday, December 4	$647.5
4	Friday, December 8	$638.2
5	Thursday, December 14	$634.4
6	Wednesday, December 6	$630.06
7	Thursday, December 7	$629.4
8	Friday, December 15	$623.9
9	Tuesday, December 12	$619.8
10	Tuesday, December 5	$612.3
11	Tuesday, November 28	$608.2
12	Monday, November 27 - "Cyber Monday"	$607.6
Note: Ranked by dollars spent, non-travel retail spending, excludes auctions and large corporate purchases
Source: comScore Networks

As a company you need to either bring an SEO/SEM (search engine optimizer / search engine marketer) person in house or outsource the work. As more consumers shift their buying habits online you need to be there when they search for your products.

A larger strategy for any business would be to incorporate your PR, traditional advertising and online advertising. A prime example of this is say you sell blue widgets and you happen to get mentioned on the Oprah's show or even something smaller such as an industry magazine. With 75% penetration of broadband in US homes a consumer wanting your blue widget will at some point go online to search for your blue widget. If you competitor comes up first in the search they may click on their site first. And purchase the blue widget from them.

Now lets say the blue widget buyer finds your site first but does not buy at that time but finds out one of your resellers is in his city and goes there to purchase the blue widget. Perfect! Now this type of sale is harder to track but not impossible.

In the end you need a strategy for your online marketing or you will be missing growth and missing sales.