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Sep 24

Result of My Social Media Tennis Experiment Thus Far

September 24, 2008 • View Comments • Twitter

I don’t hate on tech, but it is nice to see 2.0 used for something new. My last post asked if anyone played tennis in the area. I put the post up on Twitter, and Corey Pavletich (@tronovision), Cesar Torres (@cesart), Kristine Gloria (@gloriakt) and some others expressed interest. Corey even booked a court at Austin High today. So basically, a tennis meetup was organized without me even having to do anything. How cool is that?

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Sep 22

Finding Tennis Partners, the Social Media Way

September 22, 2008 • View Comments • Meet People in Austin

So as you may have noticed from some of my previous posts, I want social media to accommodate my life instead of the other way around. The world is too completely amazing to pass up just sitting behind a computer getting wrapped up in the blogo/twittosphere.

One of my real world hobbies is tennis. I played for a year on the University of Texas team and taught it for a year when I graduated. I haven’t played competitively in six years though and really miss playing. The United States Tennis Association will not let me play leagues though because I can’t play down a level as this would not be fair, but the level I play at does not have enough players to actually justify a league. It’s a Catch 22 and a total bummer.

Inspired by David J. Neff’s move to sell his house social media style, I decided to upload this video of me and Cole Crawford to Facebook in search of other players who may be in the same situation. It’s just a couple of good points from a basic game to 11. Can you or someone you know give me a run for my money? I haven’t been hitting much at all in years, so I’d appreciate some help. Leave a comment if you have any ideas.

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Sep 15

Why Most People Couldn’t Care Less About “Social Media”

September 15, 2008 • View Comments • Meet People in Austin

I find social media fascinating. As far as I’m concerned, we have the greatest innovation since the printing press in terms of the democratization of ideas. As you can see in this interesting experiment by Alana Taylor, most people honestly don’t know or do not care about social media. As I’ve discussed with Hugh MacLeod, social media has become something like a cult, where it’s those who “get it” and those who don’t.

Most people shouldn’t care about social media. The subject matter discussed in social media spheres does not directly impact their lives. It really is a wasteful time suck for them.

Why do I say this? I see very little in social media spheres about anything about current events, or sports, or business, or entertainment, or anything else someone actually looks to “media” for. I see a lot about cutting edge technology, which primarily affects you if you are in the technology business. Eight out of the top ten Technorati blogs are tech related. Most people just wait for technology to become affordable, so of course they don’t read blogs or care about social media. They wait for some reporter to steal a story from a blogger and then they read it there or see it when it hits TV.

This is not necessarily an assessment of blame, mind you. People who understand technology are more likely to take the time to sit at a computer to read blogs. They are more likely to set up blogs or learn how to have their own internet TV show. We just have to understand that this medium is very powerful. There’s more to the world than technology and we can spread the word a lot quicker through this medium than any other.

However, right now, my sister is sitting in Houston with no power. There are lines in Houston for generators, gasoline, and food. A friend from Galveston who is organizing this event is sitting in her Dallas friend’s home, wondering what her home town looks like and if any of her friends are dead. I’ve seen a little bit about this stuff from my Houston friends in the Twittosphere. I found about it a.) in the Houston Chronicle blog, which is a blog but is most certainly owned by a large traditional media company, b.) through email and c.) on a telephone. So no, I don’t have time to care if some “A-List” blogger tweets about a piece of cheesecake (although I’m sure some of his friends do). I need to know what the hell is going on there, and right now the most prominent social media sources are not meeting that need…

Please donate to the Red Cross. Donate to a Houston area or Austin area Food Bank. Just do something.

If there are other forms of relief or news you know of, please comment.

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Sep

Whoa, Here’s the Tablet TechCrunch was Jonesing for…on Rizzn’s Blog

September 15, 2008 • View Comments • Social Media and Society

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. I hate being in front of a computer and want my computer to accompany my life instead of the other way around. I also hate wasted paper and the raising price of magazines. That’s why I geeked on Mark “Rizzn” Hopkin’s last post. Check this out:

Super thin new media device that TechCrunch has wanted people to create. Is it wifi already? I’m sure it will be. I couldn’t find the post that Mark was talking about on Mashable, but here’s more info on the PlasticLogic website.

Yeah. I want one. Like, now. I want you to read this blog from it.

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Sep 12

Austin Tech Community: Your Support Is Needed. Help Me Show the Science Channel How Much You Totally Rock

September 12, 2008 • View Comments • Upcoming Events

So out of the blue, I get an email from Heather at the Science Channel in New York asking me to be a Managing Editor for a blog they want to launch about the Austin tech scene. I 1.) pinched myself and 2.) gave her a call the next day to see what this was all about.

I am really busy these days between Sun and Ski, WebHostingBuzz, and NameCheap, but I couldn’t turn such a good opportunity down. I’m going to delegate much of the writing, so I am going to need writers who feel so compelled by the cool geekery here in town that they MUST write about it. It is too good to contain. And then I will ask that they share this geekery with the entire world. I want to show the Science Channel audience why Austin is the coolest tech town in the U.S. and A.

So the people at the Science Channel getting this off the ground need some testimonials about me so they know they aren’t just throwing their money at some crazy Austin hippie. I would appreciate any kind words/mojo you could throw my way. Please leave some comments as to why you think I would be able to offer their viewers a sweet little sliver of the goodness that is the Austin tech scene. I would appreciate it very much.

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Sep 10

I’M OFFICIALLY BANNING ALL TECH HAPPY HOURS

September 10, 2008 • View Comments • Meet People in Austin, Social Media for Social Good

Yes, this is correct. I am never going to another tech happy hour in Austin again. I don’t care if Michael Arrington shows up. I don’t care if Obama shows up. I don’t care. I am a former athlete and I don’t like drinking that much, and there is a lot better use of my time.

I look at the 2.0 community, and I see a lot of people who think they have very progressive ideas about “community”. It seems like people really like patting themselves on the back for it. When I go to happy hours, I see a lot of people buying enough booze to get comfortable but not too much as to embarrass themselves, just trying to network. There is nothing wrong with networking, but there are ways to network that actually accomplish goals, i.e. actually “being” progressive. Last night, I learned a lot about Google Chrome at the Refresh Austin meeting. We had drinks, but the meeting centered on learning how it would change the scope of the internet. Lynn Bender’s last GeekAustin meeting brought together people for a very useful open source project called OpenSims. Mando Escamilla and Whurley presented. The Blood Drive Tweetup I organized with David Neff and attended by the coolest Tweeps ever helped save dozens of lives. For the Hamup Tweetup, Mike Chapman brought Tyson’s Foods in the equation, who donated 35,000 POUNDS OF FOOD TO LOCAL AUSTINITES IN NEED (and a resounding “w00t” for both of them :D ). Come on Saturday to volunteer or bring food. I guarantee that you will indeed network with other people.

Work hard for your clients or company. Volunteer for an open source project. Educate people (and notice, I say EDUCATE instead of SELF PROMOTE) at a Refresh Austin, GeekAustin, or Austin Social Media Club event. Give your time to the community in need. All of these will earn you more respect in your field than chugging away drinks and talking away at a happy hour. After all, you can get a conversation started, or you can take all of the conversations people are already having, screaming, wanting to be fixed, and actually do something about them.

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Sep

Why Marketing Shouldn’t Make You Feel Slimy

September 10, 2008 • View Comments • Online Marketing

I’m genuinely not surprised when people cringe at the idea of marketers and people in advertising. I decided to become self-employed because I was tired of being asked to tell a story that fixated on giving the customer the short end of the stick. As a sales person, I was asked by managers to sneak upsells on customers without them realizing it. As a marketer, I was told by management that the “churn and burn” model for business was okay because although it ultimately hurt the customer, it made us more profit. I don’t just look at these instances as unethical–I look at them as examples of fear and therefore weakness. When you sell a good product and you know you sell a good product, you can ask for a fair price from a customer and get it. Why? Because that product provides value to that person.

Focusing on profit margin really is a miserable practice. I’ve worked at companies that did it and it really does get in the way of you doing a good job. Sales and marketing is about providing the most value to customers. What is value? It could be 1.) improving their quality of life, 2.) saving them time, or 3.) saving them money. When you provide value to people, you ultimately feel good at the end of the day and you end up making money anyway. It’s a win/win for both parties.

Since becoming self-employed, I’ve never been happier with my career path. Why? Because I can pick and choose clients that understand this idea. For example, I was at the Sun and Ski headquarters about a month ago. I love working with them since 1.) I admittedly love their products and totally dig my discount and 2.) I feel that together, we can genuinely encourage people to be active with their family and friends. So now instead of battling with management over why screwing over a customer isn’t acceptable, I can know that the bicycle I help sell is going to help someone lower their cholesterol to acceptable levels. The ski jacket someone buys from Sun and Ski is going to keep someone warm so that they could enjoy a ski trip with the family they don’t see enough, or give them a new healthy hobby.

Customers don’t just equate to dollars that line investors’ pockets. Customers are looking at the value of your products and they know when they are just a means to your end. If you spend too much time going over the dollars and cents of doing business, you aren’t busy figuring out how your products or services can help someone more than those of the competition. Ultimately, your product does not end up meeting a need AND you have a harder time selling it because it becomes a matter of money instead of a matter of value. Don’t believe me? Just ask how that equation is working out for Ford or GM.

So how am I trying to improve your life through Sun and Ski? Sun and Ski is having a bike blowout starting September 18th. Bikes allow us to reduce our carbon footprint and clear up traffic, while also helping us stay healthy. I think that’s pretty cool. So I 1.) bought a Marin commuter bike from Sun and Ski myself and 2.) started the “Get Green, Get Fit, Get a Bike Campaign” on Facebook. If you think it’s cool too, join the group. If you need a bike, go to Sun and Ski and buy one.

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Sep 09

Go Ahead and Be Awesome. Donate Time and/or Food to the Capital Area Food Bank This Saturday

September 9, 2008 • View Comments • Meet People in Austin

The American Dream is a slippery slope. You can have everything you’d ever said you wanted, and yet still feel unfulfilled.

The secret I learned from my grandfather and parents is this: as soon as you feel that weird anxious feeling like you need to be more, give back. Having the best lawn in the neighborhood feels good, but not as good as knowing that by volunteering, you’ve allowed a fellow human being in their time of need. Buying the first 3G iPhone can make you feel cooler than someone, but that feeling is fleeting compared to the feeling you get knowing that the $300 worth of food you’ve given to the Capital Area Food Bank will allow Austin children to eat nourishing meals for lunch. There is no brain candy equivalent to the kind associated with giving back.

So go ahead. Sign up to volunteer for the Capital Area Food Bank this Saturday. More details can be found here. If you can’t spend half the day at the site, swing by Costco or Sam’s, grab a bunch of food, and donate it to the Capital Area Food Bank on Saturday. You will be helping the thousands of Austinites already in need.

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Sep 04

What is “Change”? You’re Living it Right Now

September 4, 2008 • View Comments • Politics and Current Events

A lot of Republican naysayers feel Obama has little substance. He is a “celebrity”, more concerned about his career than the fate of the Free World. They always seem to ask the same thing. What “change” is he going to bring?

Trust, combined with the internet, is a weapon many Republicans never seem to get.

What scares a terrorist more? A bomb, or the internet? A terrorist ringleader can find a desperate kid wanting to make ends meet for his family. If that kid gets bombed, he is regarded as a hero and rewarded in Heaven. If you empower that same kid with knowledge from Wikipedia or W3Schools, it’s over. In the same ways the Catholic Church had to conform to a world taken over by the ideas of Martin Luther, Fundamentalist Islam cannot compete with a world where a Muslim student in Pakistan just wants to compare chemistry notes with a Christian student in Texas. Fundamentalist Islam cannot compete with people of two totally different faiths who are comparing how their beliefs are the same and how they are different. Fundamentalist Islam depends on the few guiding and monitoring the many, and that just doesn’t compute in a wired age. Why would a Muslim want to listen to laws made by few men after experiencing the vast expanse of influence on the internet and being able to contribute to it himself?

Bombs incite people. Used prematurely, they make enemies of people who have no business being enemies. Use them unilaterally, and it’s even more stupid. The potential of information on the internet is infinite. We aren’t just literate anymore, we can all be publishers and are all students of our own work. Are we really all that different? Aren’t we all just trying to make our lives a little better for ourselves and our children? The internet, coupled with a commitment to truly understand and appreciate all cultures, is more dangerous than any war the Republicans can continue to fight. It’s important to retain defense, but it’s not going to work against a people who have so little to lose and don’t want us there anyway.

Osama bin Laden wanted us to fight. He was looking to incite us so as to stimulate anti-American sentiment and thus support in his cause, and he did a great job. He still can’t compete with a tool that allows Muslims to learn useful life skills, participate in international commerce, and learn about the world around them. They are shutting themselves in and we must have the courage to help those who want to open up.

Even if we can’t get internet into certain areas, we can get other people into those areas who can then tell their stories. Those stories are then compared to others, which are then scrutinized against others. People love telling their stories, and it’s every historian’s dream to have so many firsthand documents with so many angles to a story.

We are fighting the few who control the many. Activate the many, and the few oppressors are gone. That is what we live now. That is Change.

Two Questions: How many microloans could we have given out in Iraq with the trillions of dollars we spent on this war? If we did that, do you think they would house terrorists?

What is change to you?

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