Andy Boyer

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Category: Technology (Page 3 of 3)

Suck it up Haters – Twitter is here for good

January 28, 2009 /

I know – it still makes no sense.  And it still sounds dumb to say you “Tweeted” something.

But there are times when you have to admit things.  Like when you realized the DVD was replacing the VCR, that EVERYONE would eventually have a mobile phone, blogging was going to be here forever, and you would never again buy music that didn’t come as an .mp3.

Twitter has reached that stage.  It is here to stay.  It has enough users now that business models are being built around it, even while it doesn’t have one of its own.  And here’s the thing – it doesn’t need one.  Someone will buy it.  If you won’t listen to me, read the charts below – the ones that show 800% growth YoY.  So go get your Twitter account and stop resisting.  It’s free, it’s easy and it’s fun.  Quit making fun of it and use it.

 

 

I Become an iLemming

January 25, 2009 /

Well, I finally succumbed to the pressure.

Since it launched, I’ve seen proud and cheerful owners of the iPhone gleefully show off thier little toy.  In bars, in meetings, in lines at Starbucks, they tauntingly stick it into your face, showing you all the magical things it can do.

I resisted.  

I stayed true to my core Blackberry.  I like the Blackberry.  It’s easy to use.  I don’t need real time stock ticket updates or the best way to walk from the Space Needle to Palace Kitchen.  I need a phone and text, and maybe some Internet.

Saturday, something snapped.  

Suddenly I realized that the phone had changed.  I knew it before, but I finally admitted to the analogy that we’re in the mobile version of the shift from VCR to DVD, and I still owned a VCR.  And there is no reason to buy another souped up VCR.  It is no longer an issue of iPhone vs Blackberry.  It’s become an issue of mobile devices in 2009 and beyond, vs mobile devices in 2008 and prior.  I knew all of this already, but some light piece of straw finally made that camel’s back break.  And the camel asked for an iPhone.

Now I’m simply a junior member of the cult.  I look for and will listen to the teachings of those original iPhone disciples.  And I have to admit to myself that I’m more than a little excited to play with all the toys and gimmicks.  

Now, I haven’t yet stood in line and condescendingly scoffed at those simple “iNots” walking around with their pedestrian devices.  But I’m sure one day, as I breeze through Google Maps or order a video before boarding a plane, I’ll have that smug look of a full fledged cult member.  

If you are an iPhone Davidian and have a favorite “must-have” application, please let me know.

All Hail the Blogger In Chief

January 23, 2009 /

Inauguration day – Tears of joy, hope renewed and a feeling that we will all succeed.

Well, maybe that sentiment was felt by the general public as well, but anyone running a Social Media Marketing agency was even more pleased when the President of the United States proclaimed transparency was king and announced the White House would have a blog, communicating directly with its consumers/constituents in a conversational manner.

The news made waves around the Seattle Social Media community as well.  “Will he Twitter?”  “Will there be a White House YouTube Channel?”  “What new platforms will the White House use for Social Media?”

Any marketing effort that is being undertaken by the leader of the free world basically trumps every argument from any CEO rejecting Social Media as a valuable part of the marketing mix.  So thank you Mr. President.  You have already provided stimulus to one industry.

 

When Does Something Stop Being A Start-up

January 14, 2009 /

TechFlash details the latest version of Marcelo Calbucci’s Seattle Startup Index.  The index tracks the Web traffic of Seattle based startups.  TechFlash trumpets that once again, Zillow.com is at the top of the ist.

Now, I’m not trying to be ornery, but there’s something about being at the top of a list of “Start-ups” for multiple years, that feels akin to winning Rookie of the Year 3 times.  I see a lot of names on the Start-up list besides Zillow that have been around for quite awhile.  Names like Payscale, WetPaint, Jobster and Widgetbucks (formerly mpire.com).  

You might ask, “Who cares?”

Well if you are a start-up that launched in 2008, you certainly care that your traffic numbers are being compared to those of a companies that are reaching their 4th birthday.  Especially if some of them have geenrated serious rounds of funding already.  One would assume that a senior in his 4th year playing basketball would have more cumulative points than a freshman, no matter how exciting that freshman is.  

It all just makes me wonder how a “Start-up” is defined these days.

2 Handy Text Message Tools

September 15, 2008 /

I was down at CTIA in San Francisco last week expecting to be wowed by tons in mobile innovations.  I really thought  I’d be furiously taking notes and have plenty to write about for weeks.  Sadly, I was forced not to publish the trip report I did write and had sent internally to the folks at Spring Creek Group, due to my overall  philosophy of only writing about innovations I like, not complaining about things I don’t get or won’t use.  I figure Techcrunch does enough criticizing for the entire blogosphere, so no reason to be one of the naysayers

So instead of a trip report from the Bay, here are 2 clever text messaging apps that I read about at PCWorld.com and now use fairly regularly

1) Google Calendar SMS Commands  – I use Google Calendar, as part of my slavery to Gootle Mail, Docs, Chat, Analytics and Ad Words.  Instead of having to sync my Blackberry every day, i can simply send a text to GVENT (48368) with the word “day” and I get a full schedule.  If I want tomorrow’s shcedule, I type “nday.”  I immediately receive a text back with my schedule.

2) Diet Watcher – If you’re watching calories, Diet.com can help you keep count. Text any major restaurant chain’s name and menu item to DIET1 (dial 34381) and they’ll send you back the nutrition stats: calories, fat, carbs, and protein.  In case you are curious, a McDonald’s Double Cheeseburger has 440 Calories (23g fat), while a Starbucks Grande Latte has 

Neither of these services are awe-inspiring, but if you want information quickly, they are pretty useful.  And really at the end of the day, “Useful, Easy and Free” beat slick marketing and $60 Million in Series C funding any day of the week.

Geeking Out With Some Google Chrome Commands

September 9, 2008 /

I found a pretty fun little list over at Lifehacker today, in one of the comment threads.  If you are testing out Google Chrome (and you really should be so you can see how Browser War II is going to play out) then these toolbar commands will give you some things to play with.

  • about:memory
  • about:stats
  • about:network
  • about:internets
  • about:histograms
  • about:dns
  • about:cache
  • about:plugins
  • about:version 

Note:  This is as “techy-nerdy” as this blog will ever get.  But some of the commands are pretty cool. Let me know if you find others. 

ADDITION:  Yardloo.com also has a handy list of normal commands that you can use with Windows: 

  • F5 – Refreshes the page
  • Ctrl + F5 – Super-Refresh where the cache is ignored and a total refresh of the page is done
  • Ctrl + D – Bookmarks the currently open page
  • Ctrl + “+” – Increases the text size in the page
  • Ctrl + “-” – Decreases the text size in the page
  • Ctrl + F – Opens a box with the option of find-in-page where one  search for  keyword in the page.
  • Ctrl + U – Opens the source of the page
  • Ctrl + Shift + N – Opens a new window in incognito mode.
  • Ctrl + Shift + Esc – Opens the task manager for the browser
  • Ctrl + Shift + T – Re-open the last closed tab Maximum of last 10 tabs.
  • Ctrl + N – Opens a new windows for your browser
  • Ctrl + T – Opens a new tab in the same window
  • Ctrl + W – Closes the presently open tab
  • Ctrl + F4 – Closes the presently open tab
  • Alt + F4 – Closes the window
  • Alt + home – Opens the default homepage in Google Chrome
  • Ctrl +1 to Ctrl + 8 – The number you press along with the Ctrl key, move to you that number of Tab.
  • Ctrl +9 – Takes you to the last tab in the multiple number of tabs
  • Ctrl + Tab – Switch to the next tab
  • Ctrl + Shift + Tab – Switch to the previous tab
  • Ctrl + B – Option for toggling the bookmarks bar on/off
  • Ctrl + H – Opens the history page
  • Ctrl + J – Opens the downloads window
  • Ctrl + P – Prints the current page open in the browser

 

 

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