What is Twitter?

See that little bird to the right..Yup, that’s a link to my Twitter profile.

If you’re not sure in 2009 what Twitter is…well, 10,000 new users do everyday! It actually started longer than you think – July of 2006. I first became aware of Twitter reading a Wired magazine in Chicago in early 2008.

Twitter is also known as micro-blogging. It allows you to use up to 140 characters to send a message about what you’re doing, reading or watching. I first thought of it like text messaging but in a Social Media way. Where several ‘friends’ could see what you’re up to.

Oddly enough, everyone’s first “Tweet” or post says something like “trying out Twitter”. Mine was way more lame.
“trying to create a new account…yet it still won’t work with my cell phone!”

If your curious what your first Tweet was check out. myfirsttweet.com

Please, if you going to use Twitter, don’t post lame comments about what you ate for lunch!

Instead of re-inventing the blog wheel. I ‘borrowed’ this from twittip.com

1. Set up your profile

The first thing you need to do is to set up that profile. See that bar on top of your twitter page? Click Settings and start filling up your profile. The notable areas in here are URL, bio, picture and design. Put up a link to your site or blog in here along with a brief description. Upload a picture to differentiate yourself from the others and then tweak your Twitter design. Like any other social networking site, it is important to completely express what you are or what you stand for in your profile.

2. Follow people with similar interests

Now that you have a profile, start following people. You can find these people in Twitter directories. I use Twellow and JustTweetIt. These sites can introduce you to Twitter users that have the same interest as yours. Follow these people and observe their tweets. You may also try following who these people follow but read up their descriptions and visit their blogs to make sure you’re still on the right niche. Being on the right niche will make it easy for you to build a community with a similar interest.
3. Get into the conversation

So now that you are following people, you will now see some tweets on your board. Read up on what the people your following are up to and reply if it interests you. For example, a person narrates how he is going to conduct a meeting. You may then reply with ideas. When someone asks a question, don’t hesitate to answer if you know it. Don’t be afraid to interact.
4. Don’t spam

Spam is the cause of many unfollows on Twitter. There is a character limit for a reason. Do not send repeated messages to people. Do not constantly direct message (DM) them with links.
5. Update daily

Alright so you’re blending in the community. Now update daily if possible. I know some Twitter users who unfollow because of inactivity. Reply to people and update people with what’s going on with your life. Soon you’ll be recognized and you’ll get some follows.
6. Find the latest buzz and contribute

Now it’s your time to contribute. Find a topic that will interest your niche and tweet it. Since you have established relationships with your followers (through replies), you will get more attention. It’s a nice strategy to always append “please retweet” at the end of your tweet. There will be some people who will be so interested that they will retweet. There are others who will reply to you about the link you tweeted. But you are not a “nobody” anymore. You are not just talking to yourself. People are now responding to your tweets.
7. Help other people out

The famous saying “Do unto others what you want others to do unto you” holds here. Before you can receive retweets, you must help others first by retweeting their messages. Help the people in your niche. One day you’ll be surprised on how eager they are to help you back.
8. Create relationships

Now it’s time to create constant connections. Soon you will find that some users are more active than others. You will get to talk with the same group of people at the same time every night. But don’t get bored. Interact with these people and create relationships. Ask how they are doing and try to touch on their interests.
9. Integrate Twitter with other social networks

Have a blog? Then post to Twitter when you have a post that will interest your niche. Have a Facebook profile? Then ask people to add you. Twitter is really a vital part of web 2.0. It can serve as the core. It can let you build relationships that can branch out to other social networks.
10. Establish relationships even outside Twitter

Have a lot of friends on Twitter? Then take it to another level. Ask for their messenger and talk to these people on a more intimate level. Call them through Skype or even arrange a meet-up. Twitter can create real relationships.

Google 2001-2008 “Not Too Evil”

This is just more information from the mouth of Google. I tried to chomp out the pieces that were more relevant to most people . I’ve left out the philanthropic angle and focused more on the acquisitions and applications that have redefined how we work, live and play.

Some of these features you may think just came out. In fact, they many have been around longer than you think.

In the next post I’ll get a little more ‘controversial’.

2001

* first public acquisition: Deja.com’s Usenet Discussion Service, an archive of 500 million Usenet discussions dating back to 1995.

* Google.com is available in 26 languages.

* Image Search launches, offering access to 250 million images.

* index size grows to 3 billion web documents.

2002

* The first Google hardware is released: it’s a yellow box called the Google Search Appliance that businesses can plug into their computer network to enable search capabilities for their own documents.

* release a major overhaul for AdWords, including new cost-per-click pricing.

* Wannounce a major partnership with AOL to offer Google search and sponsored links to 34 million customers using CompuServe, Netscape and AOL.com.

* release Google Labs for users to try out beta technologies fresh from our R&D team.

* Google News launches with 4000 news sources.

* open our first Australian office in Sydney.

* Users can now search for stuff to buy with Froogle (later called Google Product Search).

2003

* American Dialect Society members vote “google” the “most useful” Word of the Year for 2002.

* acquire Pyra Labs, the creators of Blogger.

* announce a new content-targeted advertising service, enabling publishers large and small to access Google’s vast network of advertisers.

* launch Google Grants, our in-kind advertising program for nonprofit organizations to run in-kind ad campaigns for their cause.

* launch Google Print (which later becomes Google Book Search), indexing small excerpts from books to appear in search results.

2004

* search index hits a new milestone: 6 billion items, including 4.28 billion web pages and 880 million images.

* new “Googleplex” at 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway in Mountain View, giving 800+ employees a campus environment.

* introduce Google Local, offering relevant neighborhood business listings, maps, and directions. (Later, Local is combined with Google Maps.)

* Initial Public Offering of 19,605,052 shares of Class A common stock takes place on Wall Street on August 18. Opening price: $85 per share.

* Google SMS (short message service) launches; send your text search queries to GOOGL or 466453 on your mobile device.

* Google Desktop Search is introduced: users can now search for files and documents stored on their own hard drive using Google technology.

* acquire Keyhole, a digital mapping company whose technology will later become Google Earth.

* Our index of web pages reaches 8 billion.
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* The Google Print Program (since renamed Google Book Search) expands through digital scanning partnerships with the libraries of Harvard, Stanford, University of Michigan, and Oxford plus the New York Public Library.

2005

* Image Search: 1.1 billion images indexed.

* Google Maps goes live.

* acquire Urchin, a web analytics company whose technology is used to create Google Analytics.

* Google Maps now features satellite views and directions.

* Google Local goes mobile, and includes SMS driving directions.

* My Search History launches in Labs, allowing users to view all the web pages they’ve visited and Google searches they’ve made over time.

* release Site Targeting, an AdWords feature giving advertisers the ability to better target their ads to specific content sites.

* release Blogger Mobile, enabling bloggers to use their mobile phones to post and send photos to their blogs.

* Personalized Homepage (now iGoogle ) is designed for people to customize their own Google homepage with content modules they choose.

* Google Mobile Web Search is released, specially formulated for viewing search results on mobile phones.

* Google Earth: a satellite imagery-based mapping service combining 3D buildings and terrain with mapping capabilities and Google search.

* Google Blog Search goes live; it’s the way to find current and relevant blog postings on particular topics throughout the enormous blogosphere.

* Google Reader, a feed reader, is introduced at the Web 2.0 conference in San Francisco.

* introduce Picasa in 25 more languages, including Polish, Thai and Vietnamese.

* release Chat in Gmail, using the instant messaging tools from Google Talk.

* announce the acquisition of Writely, a web-based word processing application that subsequently becomes the basis for Google Docs.

* launch Google Calendar, complete with sharing and group features.

* Google Trends, a way to visualize the popularity of searches over time.

* Picasa Web Albums, allowing Picasa users to upload and share their photos online.

* The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) adds “Google” as a verb.

* At Google Code Jam Europe, nearly 10,000 programmers from 31 countries compete at Google Dublin for the top prizes; Tomasz Czajka from Poland wins the final round.

* Google News, with more than 200 years of historical articles.

* acquisition of YouTube for 1 Billion US.

* acquire JotSpot, a collaborative wiki platform, which later becomes Google Sites.

* release Patent Search in the U.S., indexing more than 7 million patents dating back to 1790.

* We announce a partnership with China Mobile, the world’s largest mobile telecom carrier, to provide mobile and Internet search services in China.

* For Valentine’s Day, open up Gmail to everyone.

* Google Hot Trends launches, listing the current 100 most active queries, showing what people are searching for at the moment.

* Street View debuts in Google Maps in five U.S. cities: New York, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Miami, and Denver.

* On Developer Day, we announce Google Gears (now known just as Gears), an open source technology for creating offline web applications.

* Google Maps gets prime placement on the original Apple iPhone.

* The first CNN/YouTube debate takes place between the eight U.S. Democratic Presidential candidates. (

* Android, the first open platform for mobile devices, and a collaboration with other companies in the Open Handset Alliance, is announced.

2008

* Google Sites, a revamp of the acquisition JotSpot, debuts. Sites enables users to create collaborative websites with embedded videos, documents, and calendars.

* Google Website Optimizer comes out of beta, expanding from an AdWords-only product. It’s a free website-testing tool with which users can continually test different combinations of their website content (such as images and text), to see which ones yield themost sales, sign-ups, leads or other goals.

* first downloadable iPhone app, featuring My Location and word suggestions for quicker mobile searching, debuts with the launch of the Apple 3G iPhone.

* Google Suggest feature arrives on Google.com, helping formulate queries, reduce spelling errors, and reduce keystrokes.

* Word gets out about Chrome a bit ahead of schedule and released in Beta on Sept 2nd.

* Google News Archive helps to make more old newspapers accessible and searchable online by partnering with newspaper publishers to digitize millions of pages of news archives.

* T-Mobile announces the G1, the first phone built on the Android operating system.

Is Google Evil? The First Five Years

OK, now I’m sure this is a great way to lose my ranking from Google!

I figured we’d start with where this monster originated.

I found this from the “official Google source”

1995

* Larry Page and Sergey Brin meet at Stanford; they disagree about most everything during this first meeting.

1996

* Larry and Sergey, now Stanford computer science grad students, begin collaborating on a search engine called BackRub.

* BackRub operates on Stanford servers for more than a year — eventually taking up too much bandwidth to suit the university.

1997

* Larry and Sergey decide that the BackRub search engine needs a new name. After some brainstorming, they go with Google — a play on the word “googol,” a mathematical term for the number represented by the numeral 1 followed by 100 zeros. The use of the term reflects their mission to organize a seemingly infinite amount of information on the web.

1998
* Sun co-founder Andy Bechtolsheim writes a check for $100,000 to an entity that doesn’t exist yet: a company called Google Inc.

* Google files for incorporation in California on September 4. Shortly thereafter, Larry and Sergey open a bank account in the newly-established company’s name and deposit Andy Bechtolsheim’s check.

* “PC Magazine” reports that Google “has an uncanny knack for returning extremely relevant results” and recognizes us as the search engine of choice in the Top 100 Web Sites.

1999

* First press release announces a $25 million round from Sequoia Capital and Kleiner Perkins;

2000
* The first 10 language versions of Google.com are released: French, German, Italian, Swedish, Finnish, Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, Norwegian and Danish.

*Forge a partnership with Yahoo! to become their default search provider. (Yahoo is still ranked as the top visited page according to Alexa.com)

*Announce the first billion-URL index and therefore Google becomes the world’s largest search engine.

* Google AdWords launches with 350 customers. The self-service ad program promises online activation with a credit card, keyword targeting and performance feedback.

* Google Toolbar is released. It’s a browser plug-in that makes it possible to search without visiting the Google homepage.

Apple Customer Service- Shame on you!

So to conclude this awful bday , which finally ended with me doing some serious damage to my neighbors mailbox and I think denting my truck heavily-insurance ugh. (ice ice baby)

So, in a heavy snowfall, I dress my two year daughter up and drive 25 miles back to the Apple store at the Keystone Fashion Mall. Just to let everyone know, The Fashion Mall in Indianapolis is where the ‘high class’ shop.

Now this being the second time after after ’setting an appointment’ , I’m prepared to pay no more than $200 to have my 16gb iPhone fixed. Well, it gets much worse.

I arrive at 4:15 to a PACKED store of Mac crazy advocates. It took me 40 minutes before my name was drawn. Keep in mind I have a two year old in tow.

So they guy looks at the blank screen a couple times , then points out that the ‘water damage’ tag has turned pink. I explained the phone worked 100% fine and that I dropped it. I NEVER DROPPED IT IN WATER!!

He didn’t care. He asked if I was up for ‘renewal’ I said I just bought it a few months ago. He told me I was out of luck and had to buy a new one at FULL price.

Completely humiliated, I stormed out of the store only to return to the AT&T store and resign a two year agreement to get an 8GB for for $429.00 including tax. Remember I had a 16GB for $299!!

So nonetheless, I am very displeased with Apple’s customer service. It seems they used to accept claims even if people dropped the phones in the toilet. Obviously that’s gotten too expensive.

So as the economy crumbles, Apple knows that I have two options. Pay full price for a phone or break my contract and go with a Blackberry etc.. (I almost did and still might do so!)

So, at least for me, Apple’s Customer Service is dead … SHAME ON YOU APPLE. Mr. Jobs- Your monster needs a spanking.

But you got some more $$ from me and I will be SURE to put this in a stupid large case!!

Slave of Technology

broken iphone

So here it is January 10,2009!! I am officially 34 years old today!

It’s great to know that 34 years ago the world was EXACTLY the same as it is now! (sarcasm mode on)

However, two young, nerdy entrepreneurs,Bill Gates and Paul Allen, created a little company called Micro-soft.

Betamax was introduced and it was revolutionary way to not only watch movies at home, it soon become the broadcast standard for camera’s. In fact, Fusework Studios still relies heavily on this format!

Anywho,enough about 1975! Let’s get back to the topic at hand

I broke my iPhone just as the big 3-4 hit!
(It fell just enough to not break the screen but jar the inside connector loose,I think. So I can hear it ring but can’t answer calls and the screen is white)

Now, those of you that don’t know about the magic of the iPhone…I’ll tell ya

I am completely crippled without it. I can’t use another phone to call “Brian” because I don’t ‘know’ his number! I can’t text anyone because,well my phone’s broken. I use it check my 15 email accounts, get directions, play music and videos, surf the web, send Twitter messages, check my Facebook blah blah blah.

So I get drive at full speed to the AT&T store, they are completely clueless and send me to the Apple Store. The Apple store tells me I don’t have appointment!

Appointment? What is this a doctors office?? So they schedule for me to come in at 4:20 (seriously) I guess i could have registered online at Apple.com, but I didn’t.

They also informed that I would have top pay a $200 repair fee as it had some visible damage to the case that honestly, has been there for months! Ugh… Remember kids, there are no breakage plans on these!

So now I wait, phoneless. Like a heroin junkie waiting for a fix. Or a motherless child…

Damn you technology!

More to come!

Social Media Sucks!

As we venture into 2009, and all the negativity going on in the world. I’m watching other nasty trends peeking inside social media sites.

It’s not a Twitter, Facebook, Blogger, MySpace, text message or email issue. It’s goes back to the people behind it.

Now, if you’re reading this and I’m not making sense, let me clarify.

A while back I contacted a CEO of a well known tech company. He’s a great guy, offers great products and I know him personally.

He absolutely hates talking to people when he doesn’t have to…

Why? 1. Well he’s a busy guy for starters. 2)He’s too busy wrapped in 200 kinds of New Media to have the time to respond personally!! 3.) I’m not sure he really enjoys talking to most people!

IF you want to reach me, contact me on these xyz platforms?!?!?

Now I understand that text messages are ‘easier’ and ‘more convenient’ than calling somebody or answering the phone. Right?

Well it depends. It seems the more tools that we have at our disposal, they more we misuse the best tools we have- ourselves.

Text conversations will never had the intimacy a phone call will nor will virtual meetings completely replace one on one meetings. Nor should they.

Now I know that we all communicate differently, and some of us with lesser social skills like the non-intimate and more elite types of social media. Just remember, we ARE human behind these keyboards NOT robots.

I’m not asking people to become something they aren’t; we’re hard coded down to the DNA! I just want to clarify that we use these tools to promote all that we believe in. They should be used to join the masses, not separate them.

The world needs more ‘humans’ and less ‘robots’!

Fun Facts about the Internet

Google has indexed over 1 trillion (1,000,000,000,000) unique URL’s.
The first Google index in 1998 already had 26 million pages, and by 2000 the Google index reached the one billion mark.

There are approximately 115 Million blogs. 122 new blogs a minute or 2 blogs a second!

The web is only 12% percent porn (not 98%!)
That’s 4.2 million unique sites and earns $5 billion a year.

Tim Berners-Lee coined the phrase world wide web in 1990.

Sweden has the highest percentage of net users. (75%)

215 million are online in the U.S. (72%)

Facebook has over 200 million users.

Top Ten Websites (by ranking) alexa

1) Yahoo!
2) Google
3) YouTube
4) Windows Live
5) Facebook
6) Microsoft Network (MSN)
7) MySpace.com
8 Wikipedia
9) Blogger
10) Yahoo!カテゴリ(Yahoo Japan!)

Flip HD, Kodak Zi6 or Creative Vado HD?

Oh boy, I was so excited when my wife approved the purchase of a Flip HD for my birthday this weekend. The caveat, of course, is that she returned the picture frame I bought her that I HAD NO idea she already had. Also, she wants to win Super Bowl tickets making a quick a dirty home movie for an online competition.

Here is why I HATE most retail stores. We return the frame, I see the Flips and ask the “salesperson” at Best Buy if they had the HD model. Of course, the guy has NO IDEA what I’m talking about , gives me the rolling eyes look and then looks it up on the computer. BTW… you can’t call Best Buy and get anyone to answer the phone! Customer service?? Yes, you are needed.

Turns out no dice; online order only! I then call Wal-mart, Target, Fry’s etc… all the big box box stores have the standard models but no HD!! It appears everyone is trying to blow out the standard def models for the new HD series. I even tried smallerindiana.com and Twitter, where local New Media king Kyle Lacy exclaims “THE FLIP HD!”

Ok, normally when someone like Kyle makes a suggestion, you heed his advice. Kyle researches stuff like crazy, so he’s like a built in web filter!

Now after checking out the video above from Chris Prillo (I LOVE BLOGS)

Chris does a review of all three here’s his consensus:

* Flip Mino HD Likes: small and lightweight; has decent software that runs on both Mac OS X and Windows; decent “foreground subject focused” audio in noisy situations.

* Flip Mino HD Dislikes: Touch controls are too sensitive; there’s a plastic protector that flips out along with the USB connector; colors are always washed out; flat video quality; white balance is impossible; tons of noise in low light; my skin tone never looks right indoors; built-in YouTube uploader decreases quality automatically; tiny LCD screen; cheap plastic wrist strap.

* Kodak Zi6 Likes: decent saturation; decent audio; great LCD size; uses AA batteries; uses SDHC media; macro switch; great quality when not blurring.

* Kodak Zi6 Dislikes: unpredictably blurred recordings in low light; no clear audio when noisy; no Mac software support; can be oversaturated in certain scene; heavy construction.

* Creative Vado HD Likes: great balance of color and saturation in the average shot; tends to favor skin tones; wide angle lens; can record two hours; replaceable / rechargeable battery via USB; lightweight; sharp definition.

* Creative Vado HD Dislikes: included skin doesn’t accommodate battery replacement / hard reset; audio is treble muted from behind (in narration); skews to light which isn’t always neutral; has a wrist strap slot but doesn’t come with a strap.

Now I’m still leaning on the Flip as it seems to have better video quality and better sound. But the Vado Has twice the capacity 8GB, removable battery and better wide angle lens!

Thoughts?

Why is it a “Brave New World”?

I didn’t really think too hard when I named this blog. Yeah, it’s the title of a book by Aldous Huxley.
In this book (1931), Huxley deals with developments in reproductive technology and sleep-learning that combine to change society.

According to answers.com, A Brave New World is a world or realm of radically transformed existence, especially one in which technological progress has both positive and negative results. That’s the whole premise of mine, as well many other blogs.

Society, as a whole, is evolving technically at a rate that is exponential and so much faster than our brains can comprehend.

Ray Kurzweil wrote “The Law of Accelerating Returns” in 2001. It explains how much the 21st century will greatly differ from the Industrial Revolution of the late 19th and 20th century.

“An analysis of the history of technology shows that technological change is exponential, contrary to the common-sense “intuitive linear” view. So we won’t experience 100 years of progress in the 21st century — it will be more like 20,000 years of progress (at today’s rate). The “returns,” such as chip speed and cost-effectiveness, also increase exponentially. There’s even exponential growth in the rate of exponential growth. Within a few decades, machine intelligence will surpass human intelligence, leading to The Singularity — technological change so rapid and profound it represents a rupture in the fabric of human history. The implications include the merger of biological and nonbiological intelligence, immortal software-based humans, and ultra-high levels of intelligence that expand outward in the universe at the speed of light.”

So while he points out how this growth will affect us; it’s ultimately going to lead to artificial intelligence that could ultimately control humans or destroy our current civilization.
Terminator anyone??

(more to follow)

Interruption Marketing works!!

With children!!

Marketing guru Seth Godin has one key point. Interruption Marketing doesn’t work! Now, most of you Internet Marketing guru’s know who Seth is. (if not click his name in blue)

I agree with what Seth has to say regarding how traditional marketing such as TV and Radio don’t work like they use to. I agree that society has changed all this, but one person proved it isn’t all lost.

My 2 year old daughter Sophia!

Sophia doesn’t understand the web other than you can play Dora the Explorer and that people probably spend too much time banging on the keys. (as she enjoys!) The ‘puter to her is nothing more than a toy. For a very young child it is.

However, brand identity is built into our DNA. McDonald’s comes to mind first. The second we tasted the greasy goodness of a fry we were in heaven. Mix that with a cheap novelty toy from the latest Disney movie and you’re in golden arches clutches forever!!I would wager that anyone 35 or younger that was a natural born U.S. citizen does not remember the first experience! 50 billion cheeseburgers and several continents later I think we have a well defined brand that hasn’t changed much in 50 years. STAYING POWER! Try driving in a car with a young child past those blasted arches and see if you don’t have to stop! Have I been interrupted?

I also learn more about how children think of brand identity from my daughter. She knows EXACTLY what Nick Jr, Icarly, Drake and Josh and every Disney movie are! (and the commercials that follow)

I don’t think these shows are hurting from a ratings perspective. I’m sure that ad revenue is down due to the recent Viacom/ Time Warner dispute.(FYI, I worked for Time Warner over a decade ago!)

My daughter also knows the Harley Davidson logo. There are two reasons she knows this. Her father and uncle both own one! When she saw the logo and said ” Harley Davidson Motorcycles” I thought she was a genius!

I could go on and on about how a two year child has taught me things about branding and marketing that I thought were dead. They’ve just changed to a more exclusive and younger market.