Andy Boyer

Blog

  • 2 Weeks to Rock and Roll Half-Marathon

    I was recently asked the following. “So, after the lip surgery, funky knee thing, bizarre disc thing in your back, and freakazoid frostbite incident with the dry ice, did you finally accept that the fates are telling you to bail out of the 1/2 Marathon?”

    Well, I’m actually THAT stubborn. I’m not bailing out.  I just stopped writing about the training.  

    There’s no question that I’m going to be one of the slower perfromers.  I’ve done a few 8 mile runs so far, and it’s clear that while 13 miles will be doable, my time is not going to be impressive.

    But with 2 weeks left, there’s still time for some slight improvements.  Barring any other “out of left field injuries,” look for some results here 2 weeks from today.

  • U2 At Qwest – Top 10 Spontaneous Decisions

    So let me paint the picture for you….  

    It’s the day after the child’s prom.  In either a moment of wisdom or stupidity, I had allowed child and friends to have their post party at my house, which sent us to a hotel. So, we went to the SAM Remix party that night and had a great time with friends.  Then, we stopped by the house and brought the kids pizza late night just to make sure the world wasn’t collapsing. 

    So now it’s noonish on Saturday when Garrett and I head down to Safeco Field to catch the Mariners vs Rays game.  And I admit, I feel a little like an old guy who went to one party, stopped by a prom party and then spent a night in a hotel.

    So Garrett and I are walking thru the north lot, and we can hear Lenny Kravitz’ sound check.  We ask ourselves why we aren’t going to this concert.  What stopped us from buying tickets? And hearts full of regret, we sullenly walk past Qwest.

    Except…..  suddenly…..  we notice…..  

    There’s a line outside the Qwest field box office.  We investigate.  We ask a few questions.  We do a few mental calculations.  And a few short minutes later, we are holding U2 concert tickets.  AND we’re walking to Safeco for a Mariners game on a 72 dgeree day.  You go draw up a better day than that.

    Anyway, here are some pics from the 300+ level.  Great show.  Fun pics.

  • My Tumblr Page

    If you know me at all, you probably think that I have too many ideas.  Thus, you might think blogging would be the perfect platform for me.  However, even blogging is too difficult for me to build a process or publishing plan in which I can execute upon every week. I start a post and then get distracted into something else.

    Thankfully, Tumblr exists.  I’ve been playing with Tumblr for a while, and am now finally ready to admit it into my inner circle of publishing platforms, joining Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin, and this blog.  Tumblr lets me be on my phone or computer, and in 30 seconds upload a thought, photo or link.  You’ll probably have to figure out yourself why I think these particular moments are worth posting, but at least I’m able to get them live.

    Anyway, feel free to follow my Tumblr account, cleverly and creatively named: http://andyboyer.tumblr.com

  • A Few Shots From the Nick Cave Exhibit at SAM

    We had the chance last week to check out SAM Remix at the Seattle Art Museum.  Now, a few weeks ago, I complained about the lack of unique events in Seattle.  So of course, here comes the slew of unique events – SAM Remix being one.

    If you haven’t checked out SAM Remix before, it’s definitely worth blowing a Friday night for.  You get to bundle together some cocktails, a trip through a cool exhibit, 1000 or so party revelers, and some wild cards, all in a single evening.  It happens every quarter, so I suggest you add it to your “date list.”

    Anyway, I didn’t take pics from the party, but I did break every rule at SAM and took pics of the exhibit itself.  Apologies to both SAM and Nick Cave, but the exhibit was pretty cool and should be shared.

  • Times Square – 11 Time Lapse Views

    Lazy Friday?  Great video to watch over coffee. Thanks New Yorker.

    Mindrelic – Manhattan in motion from Mindrelic on Vimeo.

  • A Few Photo Apps I Use Daily

    This is not meant to be a definitive review of iPhone Photo Apps.  I’m not anywhere near qualified for that kind of analysis.  But, I’ve downloaded quite a few, and here are a few I use pretty regularly to post photos up to my TumbleBlog at AndyBoyer.Tumblr.com.

    Also, I’m going to assume you already have tried, or regularly use Instagram and Hipstamatic.  

    Photosynth

    1) Photosynth: It’s not the easiest tool to use super effectively, and tends to be pretty buggy, but when it works it’s a pretty cool way to take a panoramic shot.  Great for the top of moutnains, stadiums, or places where you just want to capture a 30,000 foot of your surroundings. The issue is that it is hard to line up the string of photos in a way that creates the perfect stitch.  But, I’m sure with a little more diligence, you can pull it off better than I do.  (Also, make sure you are standing next to someone who isn’t going to move around a lot and get their head in the shot.)

    2) Diptic: Easy way to quickly stitch a few photos together into one “frame.”  Do the edits right on your phone, and choose from about 10-20 layout options.  Then, upload that picture to your Facebook pge or what not.

    3) Comic Touch Lite: Fun little free version of an app that simply ads comic bubbles to the pic.  Nothing revolutionary here, but super simple to use and fun at bbq’s and such.

    4) Camera Plus: I like playing with this, and I think it provides slightly better photos.  Not 100% sold though.  (No example)

    5) 100 Cameras in One: Basically it’s Hipstamiatic with a different style interface.  Take pics, run them through a filter, see the result.

    Things I’m playing with and haven’t decided upon yet.  (ie, saving them for a future blog post.)

     PicPlz, SlowShutter, ToonPaint, MillColour, Phototreats, Retro Camera, Labelbox, LiveFX

    Also:

    I’ve already written about publishing tools like Zapd and Color, so I left them out of this post.

    Let me know if you have any photo editing tools that you are using every day.

  • Opinion – We Need New Events

    Now this may not seem like a fair post, since I go to more marketing events than the average person should.  But for a community as creative as Seattle, I’m beginning to think the networking event space has become pretty tame and uninspired.  Don’t get me wrong – the people are great, the venues are fun, and there are certainly more than enough to choose from.  Shauna Causey’s Twestival is awesome, and so is Gigs4Good, but there’s room for more creativity. Here are a few things that strike me.

    1) We need to train up a slew of talented moderators.  It’s tough to admit this, but moderated panels are starting to become the death of a good event.  5 people on a panel is too many, and we don’t need to ask each person the same question.  Let’s put together a diverse panel, let them talk about their expertise, and have moderators ask pointed questions.  We should move away from round-table, generic subjects that the people in the crowd can just as well comment on.

    2) We seem to use the same speakers over and over. I love that Seattle wants to promote its home grown stars.  And I get that there aren’t 500 local celebs to choose from.  But it does seem like we burn up the star power of these folks by putting them everywhere.  There are only a few events like the Ignite series where we get to see a cavalcade of new speakers that don’t have much experience.  And this is great, because it’s a safe environment where people get to work out the kinks in their presentation style, in front of audiences who are forgiving and encouraging. We need a few more places like this, where speakers can take the stage and gain the experience to hit bigger venues.  Let’s break away from the usual 20-30.

    3) We need diversity in the subjects. I think it’s time we go a little bit outside the echo chamber.  Let’s talk to four Bay Area VC’s and find out why they think Seattle is a Tier 2 Startup city.  Let’s invite oil companies and find out why the rest of the country doesn’t mirror our love for green tech.  Let’s listen to politicians explain to liberal Seattle why people still vote Republican in other parts of the country. Basically, let’s bring in people that don’t already think like us.  What do we have to lose?

    4) Can we do something new? Sure, I like standing around and drinking a vodka soda at happy hour with colleagues.  But I also like “doing things” in the few hours I have to spend on these events.  I think NWEN does a nice job of mixing it up.  You have some educational events, some pure networking events, and some that are a hybrid of both.  But overall the whole scene needs more Trivia Quiz, Karaoke nights, ping pong tourneys, miniature golf outings.  We need more places for startups to “launch” their companies in front of a crowd of 200, and networking orgs like SMC Seattle to partner more with volunteer orgs like Seattle Works.  I think it would be way more fun to work at a food bank with my Seattle Marketing colleagues, than just belly up to a bar.  

    These are my quick thoughts on the matter.  I’m not complaining at all, and I think we still have a wealth of interesting people to talk to at these events.  But maybe, just maybe, we have some room for improvement. 

  • Drugstore CEO Talks Technology

    From TechFlash.comI’ve always raved that some of the most dynamic, powerful, inspiring bosses that I’ve worked for during my years as a technology marketer have been women.  I guess “growing up” in an environment like RealNetworks, where everyone was pretty dang smart, you just didn’t see much labeling of team members by gender.

    However, it’s easy to look around the web sites of technology companies and notice there are far more pictures of men in the “Executive Team” pages.  So, I was really interested to hear the perspective of Dawn LePore, the CEO and Chairman of Drugstore.com, at the recent TechFlash Women in Technology event.

    3 thrings stuck with me from Dawn’s conversation.

    1. The crowd was 30-40% men.  I think these kinds of event are more powerful when both genders are in the room.  We have lots ot learn from each other, so I was really excited so many men in the audience.
    2. Dawn’s main advice was pertinent to both men and women.  She spoke a lot about her career path, and it’s clear that she wasn’t promoted out of luck or chance.  She made a real decision at some point in her career that she was going to be an executive.  So instead of just executing upon the tasks given to her, she sought out mentors who get help get her to the next level.  She understood that merely doing her current job well wasn’t going to get her keys to her own corner office.  He was going to have to be trusted to to the job of the people abover her if she wanted promotion.  I think too many people do their job well and expect to be moved up, rather than seeking out help on how they can attain the next level.
    3. It was also clear that she had to make difficult family choices, but her and her family made them unapologetically and without regret.  She made the conscious choice to forego a family until she had risen to the top level.  Her husband made the choice to stay at home and be a house husband to help her attain her goals.  These are hard choices, but when you are shooting for the stratosphere, hard choices need to be made.

     

    One final thing resonated throughout the Q+A.  Women from both large and small tech companies grabbed the microphone and asked Lepore how she adapted to a world where she was such the minority.  I think it’s aninteresting point for men – and women – to keep top of mind.  That even in organizations that handle workplace gender differences with the utmost care, there is still usually a disparity between the number of men and women in the halls. It’s something to keep in mind, that no matter how hard you try to level the field, there will still be a majority / minority dynamic at play.

    Finally, I think Lepore glossed over something we all should at least think about a litlle.  One reason there are fewer women in technology excecutive positions, is that fewer women are entering the technology workplace in the first place.  We need to figure out why so many of our bright and talented women students aren’t considering careers in math and science.  I would have liked to hear her talk more about this.

  • Business Stars of Tomorrow Take Center Stage at UW Business Plan Competition

    I’ve said it every May since 2007 – judging the Investment Round of the UW Business Plan Competition is one of my favorite days of the year.  It’s exciting to absorb the energy and inspiration from all of these young entrepreneurs and idea generators.  Sure, most of the 38 “companies” on display won’t ever go past this day, but everyone who takes part surely takes something they learned, something they discovered, or an idea they came up with into future companies.

    Enough hyperbole – Let’s talk about what I saw.

    Now, the problem for me every year is that there are always these awesome engineering and medical companies that I just don’t get.  A UW med student will tell me something like, “When you combine this UW technology with this UW technology, you get a compound that completely eliminates both cancer and male pattern baldness, AND adds 4 inches to your vertical leap. We would just need 4 years and $50 million to make it work.” And since I don’t understand anything about biology, I would invest in them.  Or, they’ll show me a prototype of a jet pack or invisibility cloak.  The idea sounds cool and reasonable, and I say, “I want one of those.”  Only later do I learn why the technology is impossible.

    So this year – and I apologize to the science guys – but I really only visited the companies that I thought I would really understand well enough to ask hard questions of.  And without commenting on who I through my investment “dollars” at, here are some of the ideas I liked and people I liked talking to.

    1) Seattleite Magazine – I’ll mention them first, only because I met founder Jane Yuan a few months back and saw an early version of their business plan.  There could be a market for this kind of online pub in Seattle.  It’s a fun read, with lots of good pics of Seattle people and places.

    2) Breadcrumb – The reverse of FourSquare, Breadcrumb notifies a person’s emergency contacts in the event that they DON’T check in when expected, dramatically improving search and rescue efforts for missing or injured people.  Perfect for hikers, campers, mountain climbers, fisherman, etc… whose parents worry about them.

    3) Online Pay Station – I really root for these guys.  Think old school market meets unlimited product options. This is a company for African residents – enabling people without bank accounts or credit cards make online orders via companies like Amazon.com.  They pay Online Pay Station (OPS) cash at an OPS Internet Cafe, OPS makes a bulk buy to save on shipping, receives the order, then warehouses the merchandise until the buyer picks it up.  

    4) PotaVida – Did you know that you can put dirty water in a plastic bottle, stick it in the sun, and then the sun will kill all the really nasty, dangerous organisms in the water in 6 hours or so?  I didn’t.  The problem is, you don’t *really* know when the water is clean.  PotaVida makes a little LED based contraption that tells you when the water is safe.  Go to a disaster relief location, put 100 bottles on a roof at once, but a PotaVida device on one of them, and suddenly you know when the water is safe to hand out.

    5) Punchkeeper – Take all of the loyalty cards that you have to carry around, and put them in one app on your mobile phone.  Snap a pic of a QR code to get credit.  That simple.

    6) Sky Fu – They call it “Self Defense for the Social Web.”  I summarize it as Radian6 for small businesses who need to monitor Yelp, Trip Advisor and the like.  

    7) Pterofin – Designs and manufactures innovative wind energy devices for residential and commercial use.  I don’t get why it works better than regular turbine, but they say it does, so why not beleive them.

    8) TripBox – Makes travel planning easier.  Cool demo.  Hard to describe. Maybe Widget based travel planning.

    9) Digital Menu – Almost makes too much sense to work.  Rather than spending money printing out paper based menus every day, restaurants just go to this site, pick from the templates, update the menu, and Digital Menu turns it into a mobile or tablet based menu that can be shared online, across social channels, and that you can even view at the restaurant.

    10) Soothie Suckers –  Kids don’t want to take herbal medicine.  So the solution – put it in a popsicle.  That’s the theory here.  For what it is worth, the popsicle tastes good.

    There were a lot more great companies on display – 28 more in fact.  But that would make the blog 100 pages long.  Here’s the list of the companies that made the next round.  But congrats to everyone who made it from the initial 100+ down to this final 38.

  • Paul Allen Hits Town Hall

    For all the heat Seattle gets for – well the lack of heat – one thing that often goes overlooked is the amount of stuff to do here.  It’s really easy to fall into the trap of focusing on one activity.  We have tons of great venues for watching college and professional sports.  Too many music venues to count.  A vibrant arts and theater community.  And enough trails, likes and mountains for even the most adventurous explorer.  But we also have this educational environment that has a tendency to put amazingly inspirational people on stage.  Sometimes these events try to sneak by you, so you have to pay attention.

    In fact, the other day I tried to run through a list of people I have either had the chance to listen to or actually talk with over the last few years.  I’ve been in a crowd listening to Bill Clinton, Bill Gates, Colin Powell, Steve Wozniak and Carol Bartz, and actually have been able to chat with or work for Howard Schultz, Jeff Bezos, Rob Glaser, Richard Tait, Maria Cantwell, Geoffrey Moore, and a host of technology whiz kids like Rich Barton, Nick and Adrian Hanauer, and TA McCann.  I don’t know if you can do that everywhere in the country.

    Last Friday, I added to my list, giving up my Marines tickets to spend a few hours listening to Paul Allen, who was being interviewed at Town Hall by Geekwire’s Todd Bishop.

    I’m not going to lie.  Part of me was hoping that Allen would stand up and say, “You know what.  David Stern is a $%#&ing a$$.  I don’t care how much he fines me.  I could buy the whole league in cash if I wanted.”

    Now of course that didn’t happen, and I didn’t expect it to.  The irony is, I don’t think I can remember a specific thing from any of those speakers, and I doubt there’s anything from Allen’s talk that I’ll take to my grave.  But there were some things about his attitude and ways he tackles problems that I’ll probably walk away with.  Examples…

    In two seperate questions from the audience, he was subtly being criticized for not solving the world’s energy prolem or the country’s education issues.  He didn’t come out and say, “Oil Dependency and Teacher’s Unions” but he made it clear that there were external issues that made it impossible to solve these problems right now.  He basically said that throwing blind money at these problems was a waste – and why waste money if the problem can’t be solved without major changes.

    Allen also had a subtle shot at all the people who stopped his Seattle Commons project.  Years ago I used this blog as a forum to blast everyone who brought the Seattle Commons to its knees because they didn’t want public funds to go to building a giant central park that might improve the real estate value of the land around it (which was owned by Allen.)  Now, since Allen owned all the land that he was going to donate for the park anyway, when the people voted down the park, he had no choice but to build on it.  So now we have the super cool South Lake Union business district that houses Amazon, MSFT and more.  And ironically, he made a boat load more money on it than had it just been a big greenspace.  It was interesting that he brought up that he was almost forced to make money on that real estate deal since Seattle wouldn’t accept his land for free.

    There is some irony in the fact that so many people who attended Town Hall to see Allen, might be characterized as “anti-business.” Some were the kind of famous Seattleites who pay their mortgage from the money they made from Microsoft stock splitting 20 times, but also sent flame emails to politicians trying to stop the building of Qwest, Safeco or a new Key Arena. 

    I guess the moral of this meandering blog post is that you really need to pay attention in Seattle.  There are Town Hall events like Paul Allen all the time, and the UW hosts a ton of similarly impressive luminaries.  They may not change your life, but we all should try to collect info from smart people that don’t always think like we do.  Different perspectives can be valuable, even if they dont change your mind.