Author Archives: Andy Boyer
But What is his High Score on iPhone Bowling?
Adotas brings us word that Barack Obama is bringing his presidential campaign to the coolest phone (and presumably most influential trendsetters) on the planet, releasing an iPhone app that will enable supporters to easily reach out to friends and remind them to vote for their favorite candidate.
According ot the story, the app, “Call Friends,” organizes the user’s phonebook by state and gives each contact a status (called or not called). You can also use the app to find out where he stands on issues – and of course – enables people to donate to the campaign.
I will tell you one thing. I wouldn’t trust a lot of politicians to run a company’s mail room, but if Obama doesn’t become President, he would certainly be a heck of a CMO.
A Loss for the Seattle Community
Sad news spread quickly thorugh the Seattle business and technology world earlier this week. Keith Grinstein, a successful lawyer, executive, entrepreneur and investor had suddenly and unexpectedly passed away of an apparent heart attack.
I only had the pleasure of meeting Keith a few times, but those meetings tell me a lot about what Seattle has lost. The first time was around 2002, when Keith was the CEO of Coinstar and I was hosting a charity fundraiser for the Boys and Girls Club, a panel discussion where we hoped successful executives would come speak to a crowd of 20-30 year olds about getting ahead. I randomly sent an email to an address I found at his VC firm’s Web site, Second Avenue Partenrs, and invited him to be a panelist. Within a day or two, I didn’t receive an email from his assistant, marketing person or PR handler explaining why he couldn’t make it. I received a short response from him that said something like, “Sounds fun. Just tell me when it is.” He gladly gave up a few hours of one of his evenings to talk to about 100 young professionals, and raise a few bucks for the Boys and Gils club.
The other couple of times I met him were also around chraity events; I think a black tie auction and a Sonics related event that raised millions for Breast Cancer research. I don’t know if he would have been abe to pick me out of a lineup, but he was funny, engaging and extremely interesting to talk to.
In addition to his success in the wireless world, the company he most recently ran, Coinstar, is the correct answer to the age-old interview question, “Tell me a company with a business model you admire.” An executive of another company once told me that Coinstar was his favorite company, because as he put it, “The customer gives them a dollar, and they immediately give the customer 93 cents back. No model beats that.”
Keith had a pretty lasting influence on me, and I only met him a few times. I’m sure those that were close to him are feeling a gigantic loss, and my thoughts go out to them.
Philanthropist, entrepreneur, Angel investor, successful executive, all around good guy – We could use more Keith Grinsteins out there, not one less.
Politics You Can Actually Affect – Act Now
Let’s be honest. None of us know enough about Macro-economics to know if $700 Billion to make sure Wall Street doesn’t collapse is a good idea in the long run. It’s just too complicated for us, and our voice is one of millions, unlikely to be heard.
But we can affect stupid decisions at home. When the Sonics were abandoned by the Seattle City Council, I started subscribing to email lists from Council members. I wanted to believe that they couldn’t really be as clueless and inept as they had been portrayed in the media.
Usually the email newsletters make me do nothing more than chuckle and be happy that these people are not in charge of building airplanes or elevators. But Nick Licata can sometimes make me do something rash, like run to AndyBoyer.com and vent.
From this week’s newsletter:
Time: 6:00-8:30 Doors open at 6pm with refreshments, presentation begins at 6:30pm
Location: Bertha Knight Landes Room, City Hall, 4th Ave and James
Date: Monday, October 6
Presentation by Council Member Nick Licata
Councilmember Licata proposes redirecting a $43 million bond allocated to the Mercer Project to building new sidewalks in Seattle, funding the recommendations of the Bicycle Master Plan, Pedestrian Master Plan, and providing a long-term capital program for meeting our freight mobility needs.
Reply to Presentation by SDOT: The Seattle Dept of Transportation (SDOT) has been invited to explain why the Mercer Corridor Project is needed and the $43 million should be spent on creating a two-way Mercer Street and a narrowed Valley Street.
(Editor’s insertion: The Mercer Project is the one where they are widening Mercer Avenue into a two way avenue, so it’s easier to get on and off I-5 when leaving downtown, the Space Needle, Eastlake or Westlake.
Summary: Nick Licata wants to stop funding that I believe has already been approved, for construction on a road that will alleviate traffic, in order to build sidewalks and bike lanes. Please people, it’s time we moved this guy back to another commune where he can cause less havoc to our lives. I think it’s great that he wants a society where we can bike and walk everywhere – and maybe he should go build that society in Cle Elum, not a place where we all have cars and jobs.
You can’t affect a $700 Billion bailout, but you can affect your commute home. Let’s all start paying attention to what these guys are doing with your local tax dollar.
Kyle Johnson Photography
I’m going to quickly plug the web site of a colleague of mine, because I like the work he has up there, and also really enjoy how the site is laid out. If you are looking for a few minute break today, take a wander thorugh the pics at KJ Photos.com.
No Gas, Really
Way up here in the top left corner of the map, we tend to get a little isolationist in nature. Lots of people in Seattle never actually LEAVE Seattle for any length of time, and I have been personally shocked by how many people I meet here who have never ben to New York or Washington DC. Because of this, Seattleites tend to have a pretty narrow look at how the country works.
And with that soliloquy to set the context, I bring you a report from Charlotte, NC from the the Mid-Atlantic Regional Headquarters of Andy Boyer.com:
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You may think you are having a bad day today because you have to replace your WAMU ATM card. Well, remind yourself of the good things you have going on while you fill up your tank at any of the gas stations here that you can stroll right into…..
The Problem With the US Economy, Explained in One Question on Yahoo Answers
These people got mortgages…..
Changing the Draft Order
Nothing about marketing here, really. But I have a simple idea for the NFL, NBA and MLB to stop teams from throwing games at the end of seasons ot get a better draft pick. Instead of making the draft based on worst to best record for the season before, why not define the draft order by worst to best record over the last THREE years.
I have a few reasons for this suggestion:
- This would stop events where a great team has a few key injuries in one season, ends up with the top overall pick, and builds a dynasty out of it (see Spurs, San Antonio.
- It’s hard to tank 3 straight seasons, so individual games are less important for draft order.
- Teams that are that bad for so long need real help.
- You can make your draft choices with some “general” idea where you may end up in next year’s draft, and make some strategic decisions on free agents based on this.
- Having a ridiculous string of unjustified good luck for 1/4 season doesn’t kill you.
Anyway, that’s my big idea for the day.
PETA Opens Its Mouth, and a Few More Independents Take a Small Step to the Right…
You have to wonder what the people at PETA are thinking when they have “brainstorming” sessions. It’s like they purposely come up with ways to alienate anyone in the middle 98% of mainstream thought. From WNBC in New York:
VERMONT — People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals sent a letter to Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, cofounders of Ben & Jerry’s Homemade Inc., urging them to replace cow’s milk they use in their ice cream products with human breast milk, according to a statement recently released by a PETA spokeswoman.
“PETA’s request comes in the wake of news reports that a Swiss restaurant owner will begin purchasing breast milk from nursing mothers and substituting breast milk for 75 percent of the cow’s milk in the food he serves,” the statement says.
PETA officials say a move to human breast milk would lessen the suffering of dairy cows and their babies on factory farms and benefit human health.
You may now insert your own jokes and analysis.
Nintendo Makes Great Use of YouTube Real Estate
Adding video clips to YouTube is nothing new, and video game companies have been putting demos of their games up there for years.
But Nintendo has upped the ante with some real creative work on their channel. Make sure to watch the whole video, then do some right clicking to see how they did it.