MobileDay for Connecting to Your Biz World From Some Exotic Spot

You Want to Talk When? It’s happened to the best of us: we plan for months to get away from it all, leaving the laptop and the smartphone back home, while taking in the cliffs of the Grand Canyon, or the coves of Kauai.

But, as you’re setting up your vacation auto-response with one foot out the door, an R&D team manager says they’ll be ready to present early next week, or your coworker explains that he just doesn’t feel comfortable dealing with a client on his own, or your CEO schedules a review at the exact moment of your tee time.

For business professionals, taking off on a jaunt to some remote location is a fleeting reality when people in your business and personal life expect you to be connected all the time.

MobileDay is a new app which launched earlier this month, which provides one-touch access to any conference call in North America, without the need to remember call-in numbers and access codes.

It's great for connecting when you otherwise wouldn't or find difficult to. Need to discuss last month’s business plan with your boss from the top of Deer Valley? Want to review projections with your team from the scuba rental shop in West Palm Beach? Or, outline next steps with product development from the Victorian Grand’s porch at Mackinac Island?

With MobileDay, you can handle this with ease on your smartphone, which surely you'll need for all the cool Geocaching you plan to do with your family on vacation anyway.  

MobileDay for Connecting to Your Biz World From Some Exotic Spot

Flipboard's 2nd Anniversary: The Team Celebrates in Palo Alto

Flipboard is turning two years old this weekend and celebrated its anniversary this past week in its Palo Alto CA parking lot with friends, family, employees, investors and Silicon Valley influencers.

For those of you who don't know what Flipboard is, you're missing out on a beautiful online experience. Pegged as a 'social magazine', Flipboard is an app for the iPad, iPod and Android which allows you to view content in a way that is stunningly delicious, where photos and simplicity rule.

Part aggregator and part stunning UI for content you already consume, it was listed in the 50 Best Inventions in 2010 by Time Magazine and they describe the experience: "Flipboard ends the chaos by grabbing updates, photos and links from your friends and other interesting people, then reformatting everything in a wonderfully browsable, magazine-like format." Well said and it's spot on.

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Flipboard's 2nd Anniversary: The Team Celebrates in Palo Alto

CarWoo! Teams Up With AOL Autos: Consumers Get Best Offer Deals on Cars

This week, CarWoo! announced a partnership with AOL Autos.

How it works: the partnership provides "Best Offer" deals from 10,000+ U.S. dealers to arm buyers with the information needed to quickly and easily negotiate great market prices on the car of their dreams while retaining their privacy.

CarWoo! essentially puts consumers in the driving seat so to speak, allowing them to accept the best bids on cars in an open transparent way so they can get the best price for a new or used car. 

Below is the CarWoo! interface, but gives you an idea of how the system works.

CarWoo! Teams Up With AOL Autos: Consumers Get Best Offer Deals on Cars

Is Social Media Turning You Into a Low Self Esteem Anxiety-Rich Freak?

A University of Salford in the UK conducted a story which indicates that social media contributes to lower self esteem and higher anxiety.

Roughly half of the survey’s nearly 300 participants, reported that their use of social networks such as Twitter, Facebook and others reduces the quality of their lives.  

Confidence is affected, they say, self esteem is lower they say and two-thirds claim they find it difficult to relax or sleep after spending time on social networks.

This isn't rocket science. Ask anyone you know who spends a lot of time in front of a screen, glued to online games, social networks, management platforms like Hootsuite or sites where they're engaging in any way.

Roughly a quarter cited work or relationship difficulties due to online confrontations and more than half of the participants say they feel “worried or uncomfortable” at times they are unable to access their Facebook or email accounts. I have seen anxiety arise around me when people can't access their worlds online, including something as small as a Foursquare check-in.

Spend more time in an always on digital world and of course you're anxiety will increase. This isn't rocket science. But people are so hooked into the notion that it connects us 'more' that they don't look for the obvious negative side effects.

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Is Social Media Turning You Into a Low Self Esteem Anxiety-Rich Freak?

In Honor of Our Childhood Fourth of July Memories

If you're an American, you certainly have your own childhood memories of the July 4th holiday and if you're like most people, they involve a barbecue, fireworks or both.

I grew up in the northern Adirondack Mountains, so summers were about as perfect as any child could hope for. Within a two hour drive, there are over 60 lakes, the majority of them available for swimming or boating.

If you are changing the radio station in your car as you drive through the town of Caroga Lake, you might miss the shops, or should I say shop.

There's one small convenience store where you can buy necessities and food, a laundromat, a gas station, a cafe where you can get breakfast, lunch and homemade rice pudding, a pizza joint, a bar with a restaurant attached, and a soft serve ice cream stand. On the left is the 'other lake,' the west side of Caroga Lake, which is attached to the 'east side of the lake' where I grew up, via a bridge.

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In Honor of Our Childhood Fourth of July Memories

Top 100 San Francisco Twitter Users

Here's a list of top 100 Twitter users in San Francisco. We Blog the World made the list. Rock on!! Thanks to Evan Carmichael for putting together the list over on his blog.

	#1) @jack - Jack Dorsey
	#2) @biz - Biz Stone
	#3) @Veronica - Veronica Belmont
	#4) @mrdannyglover - Danny Glover
	#5) @Ustream - Ustream
	#6) @kevinrose - Kevin Rose
	#7) @GavinNewsom - Gavin Newsom
	#8) @goldman - Jason Goldman
	#9) @travelbargains - Travel Deals
	#10) @MythBusters - MythBusters Official
	#11) @dickc - dick costolo
	#12) @gadgetlab - Gadget Lab
	#13) @karaswisher - Kara Swisher
	#14) @wefollow - wefollow
	#15) @twitter_de - Twitter auf Deutsch
	#16) @wiredscience - WIRED Science
	#17) @donttrythis - Adam Savage
	#18) @GuyFieri - Guy Fieri
	#19) @Metallica - Metallica
	#20) @TwitCause - TwitCause
	#21) @mingyeow - Ming Yeow Ng
	#22) @RoomtoRead - Room to Read
	#23) @BrianWilson38 - Brian Wilson
	#24) @iheartquotes - i heart quotes
	#25) @Kiva - Kiva
	#26) @IGN - IGN
	#27) @klout - Klout
	#28) @grantimahara - Grant Imahara
	#29) @Twitvid - Twitvid
	#30) @TylerFlorence - Tyler Florence
	#31) @jess - Jessica Verrilli
	#32) @zynga - Zynga
	#33) @Kjer - Kjerstin Erickson
	#34) @womensprosoccer - Women's Pro Soccer
	#35) @davemorin - Dave Morin
	#36) @delbius - delbius
	#37) @Samasource - Samasource
	#38) @1bog - 1 Block Off the Grid
	#39) @dougw - Doug Williams
	#40) @jennadawn - jenna
	#41) @humphryslocombe - humphryslocombe
	#42) @aspirationtech - Aspiratio
	#43) @WeBlogtheWorld - Travel,Ideas,Culture
	#44) @rsarver - Ryan Sarver
	#45) @jkalucki - John Kalucki
	#46) @rk - Ryan King
	#47) @mrtall - Andy Lorek
	#48) @JoinTheFlock - Join The Flock
	#49) @abdur - Abdur Chowdhury
	#50) @bs - Britt Selvitell
	#51) @starwars - Star Wars
	#52) @stop - Doug Bowman
	#53) @anm - Alex McCauley
	#54) @Macworld - Macworld
	#55) @kevinthau - Kevin Thau
	#56) @kanendosei - Kanen Flowers
	#57) @Fresh - Davon Scooter Hill
	#58) @balletrusse - Maria Kochetkova
	#59) @todsacerdoti - Tod Sacerdoti
	#60) @CNETNews - CNET News
	#61) @abduzeedo - Abduzeedo
	#62) @briansolis - Brian Solis
	#63) @digg_updates - Digg_Updates
	#64) @TheKevinButler - Kevin Butler
	#65) @SocialMedia411 - Social Media News
	#66) @drkiki - Dr. Kiki Sanford
	#67) @pcworld - PCWorld
	#68) @Techmeme - Techmeme
	#69) @onlyinsf - Only in SF
	#70) @tyleroakley - Tyler Oakle
	#71) @djshadow - DJ Shadow
	#72) @github - GitHub
	#73) @californiabeat - California beat
	#74) @thirstyapp - Michael Abehsera
	#75) @willsmith - Will Smith
	#76) @Revision3 - Revision3
	#77) @summertomato - Darya Pino
	#78) @petecashmore - Pete Cashmore
	#79) @00joe - Joe Royall
	#80) @Hameed_Hemmat - Hameed Hemmat
	#81) @crystal - crystal
	#82) @Focus - Focus
	#83) @couponlovin - Coupon Lovin'
	#84) @dlprager - David Prager
	#85) @k - Kevin Cheng
	#86) @pud - Philip Kaplan
	#87) @fANNEtweetworld - Lifestyle
	#88) @mickhagen - Mick Hagen
	#89) @EcoGlam - EcoGlam
	#90) @Sfkeiko - Keiko Marutani
	#91) @Jvascellaro - Jessica Vascellaro
	#92) @sumaya - Sumaya Kazi
	#93) @patrickklepek - Patrick Klepek
	#94) @Maggie - Maggie Mason
	#95) @noah - noah glass
	#96) @TammyCamp - Tammy Camp
	#97) @narendra - Narendra Rocherolle
	#98) @c - Coley Chen
	#99) @emilychang - Emily Chang
	#100) @Trace_Cohen - Trace Cohen

 

 

Top 100 San Francisco Twitter Users

Fotobabble for Websites, Facebook Timeline & New iPhone App Release

Fotobabble announced three new updates this week: Fotobabble for Websites, Fotobabble for Timeline and a new iPhone App release.   

Fotobabble for Websites is a new application that for the first time lets an organization run photo and audio-driven campaigns and promotions directly from any website. Through the visual impact of photos, the emotion of voice and the power of social media, brands and businesses can increase web traffic and audience engagement.

Everloop.com, the leading online social site for kids and tweens, selected Fotobabble for Websites to power its INSPIRE contest with international pop star Greyson Chance. Kids were invited to take a photo of what inspires them, add their voice, and enter to win an iPad and autographed posters.

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Fotobabble for Websites, Facebook Timeline & New iPhone App Release

When a Friend is Diagnosed with Stage 4 Cancer...

Roughly three months ago, I learned that a dear friend was diagnosed with Stage 4 Lung Cancer. He's Chinese American, in his early fifties, fit, in great physical shape and doesn't smoke. If you track cancer stats, personal quantifiers are important. I keep asking myself, how can someone who doesn't smoke, has never smoked and has never been the victim of second-hand smoke be given such a potential death sentence?

I went to visit him for the first time this past week. He is local to the San Francisco Bay Area but I met him back East when I lived in Boston where he was teaching and our connection was pretty much immediate.

He was teaching a dance class, I was taking it and while the cultures I most gravitate to tend to be in Europe, Southern Africa and parts of South America, not necessarily in that order, his 'very Chinese' way of teaching made so much more sense to me that anyone else I had taken lessons from, which was well over a dozen at the time.

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When a Friend is Diagnosed with Stage 4 Cancer...

Learning About the Magic of Lighting with Rick Friedman

If you have never done a photo workshop, and are remotely interested in photography, then you should figure out what you want or need to learn and set aside some time for a few workshops and classes. Why do one if you're not a pro or planning to be one?

Easy...workshops give you access to the best photographers in the world (aka the instructors) and people who are the most passionate about photography you'll likely run across (aka the attendees).

Rick Friedman is a well known photographer based in Boston who I met and worked with about 15 years ago. Although I've known of and respected his work for a long time, I've never done one of his workshops and the timing couldn't have been better. Rick's magic sauce? Among other things, lighting.

Lighting isn't an easy thing to master. If anything, I find the thought of dealing with flash more stressful than actually dealing with it. While mastering the art of lighting takes time and understanding it can be complex, once you dive in, you realize that you can get up to speed fairly quickly with the basics and Rick is an excellent instructor to get you there.

He did a series of workshops on the west coast recently: San Francisco, Los Angeles and the San Diego area. 

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Learning About the Magic of Lighting with Rick Friedman

WeOttaGo Delivers Relevant Data About Where To Hang Out on the Road

This past weekend, I hung out with the WeOtta founders Forrest and Grant Wernick, who gave me a demo of their mobile app, WeOttaGo -- available as a free download at the iTunes store. WeOtta is all about giving you more accurate refined data about what to do and where to go in a particular location.

Using machine learning and natural language processing (my past life -- aka Dragon Systems days), they harness, process and turn data that is unstructured into contextually relevant results that are most relevant to us in real time.

Example: you're in San Francisco or London and are trying to find a great wine bar that is still open now that dinner has finished and you look at your watch and it's after 11 pm. How many times do you struggle to think of a place to go that is close to where you're already at, even if you know a city relatively well. As an avid traveler, this happens to me all the time.

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WeOttaGo Delivers Relevant Data About Where To Hang Out on the Road