AFTB: Another Freaking Tech Blog

The New Facebook

2009-03-12T12:57:00.003-04:00

Yet again... Facebook has rolled out a new version of its home page. Yet again... it's gotten lots of press in the blogosphere.

Mine rolled out today... and my initial reaction is that it isn't bad.

A few things to note:

1- If someone pokes you... you have to scroll down to the bottom of the "highlights" on the right. Ok... I get it Facebook... you want me to spend more time on the page. Fine.
2- The ability to quickly edit your feed preferences.... pretty impressive. We all have that Facebook "friend" we went to junior high with... didn't like in Jr. high, nothing's changed... but they somehow manage to invite you to every event that they are throwing (nevermind that you live 1,000 miles away). Getting that person's feed off your home page is SUPER simple. I'm a fan (of course... if that person is alerted that their feed has been blocked... I would completely stop being a fan... and seeing how I don't know of anyone who's blocked me... I am guessing it isn't the case).
3- The A.D.D.-like real time feeds are VERY reminiscent of twitter... which I guess is the point.

Either way... I can't imagine too many people being up in arms over the changes... and truthfully... they aren't bad at all.

Congrats to Amazon

2009-02-09T12:12:00.003-05:00

Maybe I missed it... but in my mind, the blogosphere hasn't been this talkative about a product launch since the last (perhaps final?) Stevenote.

Check this out:

Ars
Tech Crunch
Crunch Gear
JKonTheRun
Giz
SAI

I'm sure there are a bunch of them I'm missing too, but I have to say... congrats to Mr. Bezos, Amazon and your PR team. This is how product launches should be done.

A few random tech observations from the subway

2009-01-27T15:36:00.003-05:00

I took the subway into Manhattan today, and had a few random thoughts that I thought might be worth sharing:

1- I adore the iPod touch. It's such an awesome device.
2- I wish Gmail and the other Google apps worked in a sort of offline mode. When I had my last blackberry, I was very fond of typing an e-mail (or 5) while underground, and then sending at my convenience.
3- I spotted a Zune out in the wild. Hadn't seen one in... well... maybe ever?
4- I spotted a Kindle out in the while. Hadn't seen one in a few months (and let me say... it really is a cool looking toy).

All around, it was a nice little tech-filled subway ride.

Google Talk is becoming REALLY cool

2009-01-22T11:23:00.002-05:00

Google made a very nice addition today to the Google Talk platform, by adding the ability to share YouTube videos during a conversation.

As many of the commenters on TechCrunch pointed out, this isn't something entirely new, and there are companies who have been doing this for a while (Yahoo is mentioned a couple of times).

What isn't pointed out, and isn't quite available (yet?) is integration with Android. We know that Google has previously incorporated SMS into Gchat, and that Google is making a huge push into the mobile space.

So, here's my question for you:

How cool would it be to be able to have a Gchat going, with voice and video included, while watching a Youtube video... all from your Android phone?

More importantly... how far away is that?

A great day for online media- potentially

2009-01-20T12:00:00.003-05:00

Watching the inauguration from the position of being a tech guy, this may make sense, but I think it speaks volumes to the ways that the media is changing.

In discussion through Facebook, e-mail and twitter, I can say that I know people in 4 different countries who are watching or listening live.

On Twitter, there's an explosion of tweets about the event itself, which is to be expected. What I didn't anticipate, however (even if I should have), is how many people are complaining about how their chosen service is dropping the ball in regards to live streams, bandwidth or any other problems.

Twitter Update: I may not be the only one thinking this. I just ReTweeted @mediaphyter's request for people who are watching online or through social media, and have to assume she's writing a story about this for ZDnet (can't wait to see what she comes up with)

In my mind, while today is obviously a huge historical day, I also think it will go down in history as the day that online media took a major shift into the mainstream (you know... assuming that someone can figure out how to make the technology work consistently).

Day 12 of rocking the Roku

2008-11-16T11:56:00.002-05:00

So, I'm on day 12 of living without cable, and instead relying on net video and Netflix via the Roku set top box.

Here's my impressions so far:

1- the video quality is really, really good.
2- the ease of use is fantastic
3- the selection of movies and TV shows Netflix has available is.... well.. lacking.

Don't get me wrong, the box is great, and the move away from cable is fully worth it, but there are movies and shows I can't believe they don't have available. I'd give an example, but instead will say this:

Pick your 5 favorite movies.... now assume at least 3 of them aren't there.

Day 1 with a Roku

2008-11-04T08:44:00.003-05:00

After a long wait (somehow, it never dawned on me that selecting 'ground' as my delivery option meant there was going to be a truck coming from California), my new Roku set top box arrived, and last night, I took it out for a test run.

Set up was unbelievably easy, and it was up and running within about 3 minutes of me getting home. Then it was on to doing exactly what I was doing prior to returning my cable box: watching random movies. Last night's selection was Groundhog Day, and I was unbelievably impressed with the picture quality.

Then I got to thinking, and realized I had some misconceptions about Netflix (or maybe that my perceptions were changing with the company).

I always thought Netflix was out to knock off Blockbuster. Well, they pretty much succeeded there. The question, I guess for me... Who's next? And I think Netflix is going after the entire DVD industry. Think about it for a second. If you could have any movie you want to see streamed to your TV, would you bother buying DVD's anymore?

Dear Chrome.. it isn't you.... it's me

2008-10-31T09:01:00.002-04:00

First off, I am a big fan of Google Chrome. It is, actually, the best browsing experience I have had.

But.... I am no longer using it.

Three reasons why:

1- No Mac client. In my personal life, I am a Mac user and bit of a fanboy. Not being able to run it at home wasn't the worst thing, but it would be a nice option to have.

2- No Google Toolbar- The irony of this is pretty thick. I use the Google Toolbar an incredible amount. From short cuts to easily finding a story I am looking for on a site, I may actually use the toolbar more than I use Google.

3- There are some pages I view every day, whether it's the media database I use at work (which, by the way, the Firefox extension that lets me run IE through the Firefox platform is amazingly convenient) or something a little less sophisticated. If web pages I view on a daily basis won't render, there's really no use in sticking with Chrome.

What about you? What's keeping you from using (or sticking with) Chrome?

Day 1 of a cableless life...maybe a coincidence

2008-10-26T19:39:00.002-04:00

Any idea what's fun?

I'd start with telling your cable company that they are being replaced by a better technology that's more convenient to you.

Then... they'll say something fun like:

No problem, we understand that you (my edit: accurately view us as dumb-pipe) have your own needs... we're happy to make the adjustment to your account.

An hour later, having agreed with my cable provider that I would keep their full service until next Saturday, because that's the point where I will be turning my cable box in, my "menu" option on the cable box (you know.... the same service I agreed to pay for until next week), will no longer work.

Roku.... what a weird coincidence.... On Day number 1 of me trying to become your biggest fan... you get a heck of an opportunity. Please don't screw it up like Time Warner.

Re-taking the plunge to a cable-less life

2008-10-25T19:34:00.002-04:00

Upon moving to Brooklyn a few months ago, I decided it was time to again become a cable subscriber. After all, there's SO much on all the time, I would have a huge variety of things I wanted to watch, and the hardest choice would be selecting the "best" of what's on... right?

Wrong, it didn't work out that way, and the only "huge" thing I ended up with was the bill.

As such, today, I ordered the Roku Netflix player, and will be canceling my cable when it comes. Look for updates on the switch to a Cable-less life on occasion here.

What about you? Could you live without cable? What's your experience with the Roku?

Off Topic: One of the greatest pics I have ever seen

2008-10-17T09:13:00.004-04:00

At heart... I'm a bit of a numbers guy.... which is why I'm such a baseball fan.

As such... this might be one of my favorite pictures of all time:

The numbers represent the likeliness of victory at any given point in last night's Redsox game.

My take on In-Game Advertising

2008-10-16T08:32:00.004-04:00

Yesterday, my buddy Anthony, who's a heck of a social marketer and general all around good guy, posted about how he was excited that the Obama campaign has looked at non traditional advertising venues, including in-games ads.

My take is a lot different from his, and reflects what I was thinking when I wrote about mobile advertising.

To me... in the case on both Mobile Ads and In-Game ads, it's a clear case of double-dipping on behalf of the manufacturer, and it's a model that only the Cable companies have managed to succeed on (you pay for cable or satellite TV... while ALSO being advertised to).

If I'm going to shell out $70 for a game... or $100 monthly for my cell service.... I don't want it to come with ads. Pure and simple.

I think for mobile ads or in game ads to be something I'd be willing to live with, there would have to be some sort of trade-off. For example, if EA Sports wanted to send me a free copy of Madden 2009, with the expectation that I'll deal with advertisements (preferably non-intrusive advertisements at that), I'd be much more likely.

For Sprint, if they wanted to knock off 40% of my cell phone bill, in return for me putting up with a couple texts a day advertising something (think of the GPS and hyper-local targeting that could come with this... it's a market's dream come true), I'd be down with that.

But for me... I am only going to be accepting of new forms of advertising when the company hosting the ads gives me something in return.

To comment, or not to comment... that is the question

2008-10-13T10:45:00.003-04:00

I have a question for both the Hacks and Flacks (both terms said with love) who happen to read my blog.

As part of being a flack, I've reached out to different reporters and analysts about a story they've written, whether it be to suggest a follow up piece or to (respectively) point out something that I think they may have missed. That's not to say I am the flack who would argue with a reporter or send the scathing e-mail that @bmorrissey would berate. It's most often with one of 2 aims:

1- to introduce a reporter/analyst to a company they may not have heard of
2- to find out, based on the fact that they haven't written about the subject before, if this is a new beat they'll be looking at, or if this is a one-off piece based on no one else being available to cover it, and not something they'll be looking at again. (i.e. I am not going to pester this person forever because they wrote a one-off... and I hope most reporters/analysts appreciate this).

That said, I've had quite a few Hacks respond to me with some variation of the following response:

Hey, thanks for the feedback. Please feel free to post a note along these lines in the comments.

So... here's my questions (and gut feelings on how I would answer below in italics).

-To Hacks (analysts, bloggers and reporters)- Should a PR person respond in the comments to something you've written, even if it's counter to your view or says "hey, you missed it"? Is it better said from someone at the company that the PR person represents?

-To Flacks - Do you respond in comments to Hacks? Have you recommended that your clients do the same (either in addition to your comment or in lieu of it)? If so, what has the feedback been?

I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments.

My take: A PR person shouldn't be the one doing the commenting. It isn't hard to trace an IP address. Also, it just plain looks tacky... even if the flack discloses the fact that they are a flack. If a company's CEO wants to respond, I think that carries a LOT more weight... but also caution the CEO's that I work with that a response could spark additional conversation, and that they should be prepared for an open, and honest dialogue... not a one-off response

Android

2008-09-30T09:52:00.003-04:00

In the office, I've been accused of being a bit of a Google fanboy.

It's true... I am. As such, I had been planning on putting together some thoughts on Android and whether or not I think it will succeed.

At Giz, John Mahoney has done a much better job than I'd be able to. It's worth a read if you have a few minutes.

MySpace Music Launches- but Amazon is the clear winner here

2008-09-26T10:19:00.002-04:00

The tech world's been buzzing with MySpace music officially being launched.

My personal opinion of MySpace was best summed up by John Paczkowski when he mentioned its:

deceptively flattering photos and seizure-inducing Web page design

In fact, a couple of weeks ago, I decided that I had all I could want and no longer needed my space (funny story... deleting a MySpace account takes up to 48 hours... seriously????).

That said, this week's announcement is a big win for one company... and it isn't MySpace or any of the record labels... it's Amazon.

At it's heart... MySpace Music is an affiliate marketing campaign. In case you don't know... this means Amazon will pay a referral fee to MySpace for every song sold through MySpace Music. While I have no ideas what the numbers are... let's make it simple and say that every song purchased is $1, and MySpace gets a $.05 cut. It's very much performance based marketing, and Amazon has made a killing doing this for years.

So in other words.... Amazon just got in front of 120 million people... with the agreement that for every $.05 they give MySpace... they get $.95 back (again... hypothetical numbers).

Again... if there's a winner in this announcement... it's Amazon.

My entry for the Sarah Palin Look Alike contest

2008-09-25T08:24:00.006-04:00

Much has been made of the Tina Fey impersonation of Sarah Palin.

Yesterday, JR Raphael at the Inquisitr threw up a vote for his Palin look alike... and it got me thinking that there's a glaring omission in the blogosphere about someone who looks like Palin.

I give you my vote: Gabrielle Carteris (Andrea Zuckerman from 90210)

Check out this comparison... it's downright eerie.

Not enough for you? Fine.

Based on a recommendation, I went to YearbookYourself.com to find out what Palin would have looked like as a character on 90210, based on when the show was airing.

Here.... now tell me you don't see the resemblance:

Are you for real?

2008-09-11T17:16:00.004-04:00

A while back, the company I work for made the decision to let a person go. I wasn't planning on mentioning this, or pointing him out, but he's done that for me.

Recently, we put out a press release, and in the PR field, when you drop an announcement, you also tend to monitor and search for places that the release was picked up, look for stories that were written, etc.

Anyway, during that process, one of our rockstar employees (you need to be a Mediapost member for that link to work... but check out the 4th paragraph) stumbled on to this little gem from our fallen hero:

At DPR I sat next to a guy who ate apples and nuts at his desk all day long. I mean, when he wasn't stuffing his face with some leftovers in a tupperware or a huge sandwich he got from Subway and insisted on bringing back to the office. I mean, this guy ate all day long. He must have eaten four or five apples daily. Plus half a bag of cashews. It was like sitting next to a horse and a squirrel. Made me sick and I had to hold myself back from telling him to knock it off. He was new, I was on my way out, what good would it have done?

Given that I now sit next to the "Squorse" in question... I thought I would provide an update:

He's recently switched over to eating Sour Grapes.

Chrome Rocks.... and Microsoft Irony

2008-09-02T17:38:00.003-04:00

Like everyone else who's a fanboy.... I downloaded Chrome today.

Here's some fun irony from Microsoft (click on the picture and read the fine print)

Yeah, but would anybody want to live there?

2008-08-28T08:19:00.002-04:00

Green is still the rage in the tech space right now. Telsa, Telepresence, Sustainability, Wind power, etc.

The folks over at Giz pointed out a neat idea for a city, which would be full self sustaining in terms of power.

In theory, this is a really cool idea. But somehow, it reminds me an awful lot of the spaceship from Wall-E.... a place that you'd never have to leave.

So, if given the option, would you live there?

Leave one in the comments.

What ESPN doesn't get

2008-07-28T08:33:00.003-04:00

So, last night was a fairly large regular season baseball game between the Redsox and Yankees. Me, being the proud owner of a subscription to MLB.tv, was ready to log in, sit back, and watch on my laptop.

One problem: ESPN had the rights to the game, and it was blocked out on MLB.tv.

So look, without going into all the hack available to work around this silly little problem, I had a thought.

We know the technology is out there to stream baseball games... we know ESPN has a huge web presence, and that there is a generation like mine (and immediately following mine) that isn't really into cable. We get our content via the web, on our terms. Want to watch Family Guy? Hulu.com. Rent a movie? Netflix streaming (soon to come to an Xbox near you... they finally got that one right).

So, ESPN... on behalf of every person not willing to pay for cable, I'd ask you this: Why don't you stream the game that you already have the rights to? You've already got a ton of page-views coming to your site... imagine if you could keep your audience there for 3 hours at a time.

I mean heck... even the NFL gets it these days.

Product advertising that doesn't suck?

2008-07-22T09:00:00.002-04:00

So, it isn't often that I read about some new form of advertising that could be appealing to me. Face it, I live in Manhattan, and have, for the most part, become immune to most forms of advertising (when people stop to look at billboards that are big enough to cover sections of MSG, I'm usually the one who tries to figure out why they're stopped... as opposed to realizing there's a 40 foot Optimus Prime looking me in the face).

But now... it seems like Tivo might have figured out something that could work for me. The one thing I am guilty of, when falling for ads, is the impulse buy... and if Tivo can make the impulse buy super easy, it may have found itself a winner.

The most important thing about making this successful though, in my mind anyway, is making it so that people don't feel like they're being advertised to. Tivo's new toy needs to be positioned as a service, connecting customers/consumers with the products that they like.

Should be fun to see if Tivo can pull it off.

What happens if it rains?

2008-07-09T10:58:00.002-04:00

July 4th is big in my family, so I spent the weekend in my home town with my folks. My parents are typical upstate NY snow-birds... they spend half the year in Florida and half the year in Upstate NY.

As such, they seem like the perfect people to be on board with cloud computing, rather than having to schlep a desktop computer with them every time they switch cities.

So, as I am extolling the virtues of saving docs and such in the cloud (my mom couldn't believe she could have access to her recipes from anywhere), I was asked a great question:

What happens if it rains?

Turns out... my folks' silly question became a reality yesterday, when Google docs went down.

Now, here's the question I have for users of Google's productivity suite: How much downtime is enough to make you go back to Microsoft (or open office)?

Fun day for online marketers

2008-07-01T10:49:00.003-04:00

So... two major announcements in the online advertising world today.

Google's launching an affiliate network by rebranding Performics.
Flash just became SEO friendly.

Somewhere, and online marketer's head just exploded.

What happens if Yahoo tanks?

2008-06-27T10:13:00.003-04:00

Jerry Yang has taken a beating recently (see here what Fake Steve had to say) and rumors of Yahoo's demise seem to come out every day.

Here's one quick question that was brought up in the office today:

If Yahoo officially dies... what happens to Yahoo Sports?

I can't speak for anyone else, but fantasy sports are one thing that I think Yahoo has done incredibly well. It would be a shame to see that die.

But... in hoping for the best, and preparing for the worst... I guess I have to ask:

Anyone know of another place to host a free, customizable fantasy baseball league?

Loving twitter

2008-06-20T22:55:00.006-04:00

see pics below..... Nuff said:

you know... I am not much of a political person.... but this was cool... and pretty much made my day.

Rocketmail, WHYmail?

2008-06-19T10:14:00.003-04:00

So MicroHoo didn't happen, and now Yahoo has launched a new, and innovative initiative to regain some of their lost shine. They've opened up Rocketmail and ymail e-mail addresses.

Their spokesperson, Yahoo VP John Kremer, said: “People want an e-mail address that reflects who they are, whether they are signing up for an e-mail address for the first time, or simply updating their e-mail pseudonym to reflect the stage they are at in life.”

John.... When is the last time you went through the process of changing your personal e-mail address? I say process, because it is one. Despite being on Gmail for more than a year, I still occasionally check my previous address, because people who had it years ago still send me e-mail there (and are quickly given my 'new' e-mail).

Hey look, I get it... there is something cool about getting "mikebush" as a user name (like I managed to do on twitter and friendfeed... feel free to add me on either... or both).

But really... is opening up new e-mail domains really the next big thing?

Death of pitchablogger... reasons why... and a shout out to WuFoo

2008-06-18T09:34:00.003-04:00

So, after thinking it through, I've decided to retire the pitchablogger.com idea.

Why? Simple. The concept came from me being a PR guy, and looking for an easy way to attract more attention from the blogosphere for my clients. On my side of the fence, having bloggers say "yes, I'd like to receive information about Client XX because they are certainly relevant to what I like to write about " while also telling me the best way to contact them was a no-brainer. In fact... it seemed like the type of idea that someone should have some up with a LONG time ago (small interjection here: let me state, unequivocally... the intention wasn't to create a brand new list of people to spam. Rather... it was to create a lit of how people wanted to be engaged (and I say that, not from the brand engagement perspective you hear so much about these days.. but from a personal engagement point of view that @Chrisbrogan would be proud of).

That said... the long story short is as follows. I still think it's a good concept, but I don't have the time to actively promote it to the blogosphere, so its value is incredibly limited. Add in the fact that tools like FriendFeed or Twitter make it easier to find and relate to members of the blogosphere, and it seems like the need for a project like this is minimal.

That said, I want to end this post with a shout out to the team at WuFoo, who was providing the back end for pitchablogger's database. In the wake of plenty of people having massive issues with customer service (Delta, I am looking at you), I am floored with the level of service I received from their team.

Here's the back story: Yesterday, when I decided to pull the plug on pitchablogger, I logged in to cancel my account. The process seemed straight forward enough, but I never got to any sort of confirmation page, nor did I receive an e-mail stating the account was canceled. Today, I got the latest invoice from the company. Convenient, right?

So, I went back to the site to cancel the account (again). I got a confirmation, and did their exit survey. In the survey, based on the question "what can we do better?" I said something like "Make it easier to cancel without getting a bill the next day. And, by easier, I mean, make it easier for your user to leave without getting hit with a bill that seems terribly convenient for you."

Within an hour, I got an e-mail from Chris in their customer service department, apologizing for the bill, and taking care of the issue. Chris explained that they had a server issue yesterday, which lead to the problem, and told me the bill had been taken care of.... and not on my dime.

Outstanding service in my mind. I can't recommend this company enough, assuming you're trying to build a database via the web.

Thanks again Chris and the WuFoo team. You've made a big fan out of me, and will totally have my business the next time I come up with some silly idea like pitchablogger.

Bad day for the internet

2008-06-17T16:24:00.002-04:00

Is it me... or is EVERYTHING broken today?

Facebook was down this morning.

Google App engine is down now.

Hulu embeds are down.

Firefox struggled with the launch of FF3.

Even AIM was down this morning.

Somewhere there's a person who is still using dial up and refusing to view e-mail.... and he is laughing at the rest of us.

Off topic... but hilarious

2008-06-12T12:59:00.001-04:00

My pal Corey sent this along to me.

Racey? Yupper. Sexist? Maybe.

Hilarious? Absolutely.

Pass it along.

Google.me?

2008-06-03T09:18:00.002-04:00

Hank Williams has a really interesting take on the marriage of Google and Apple, and if you have a few minutes, it's completely worth a read.

That said... I couldn't disagree with him more. With speculation out there that a Major Software Vendor will play a key role at the upcoming WWDC (read: 3G iPhone day), and Apple alleged to be releasing a cloud computing initiative (and make no mistake, the next generation of cloud computing will be a mobile generation) that will sync up mobile devices with laptops and desktops, this seems to be a marriage made in heaven. I think the folks over Valleywag nailed it.

It makes sense on too many levels.

Apple wants to break into the enterprise market with the iPhone, so the rumored .me seems like a good way to do so (Apple is going to show the non-geek that cloud computing is safe, which in my mind, creates an end-user pull within the enterprise).
Despite claiming they're not a competitor to Microsoft, Google is trying to move its docs. suite into the enterprise.
In order for the common non-techy nerd to download applications to Android, they need a destination. Call it an "iTunes-like App shop." Why try to build something that's "iTunes-like" when you can simply partner with the original?

Android is going to be a really cool operating system, and it will run on lots of phones. Great. However, it seems to me that in order for Google to really show off what the system will be capable of doing, Google is going to need the slickest, coolest, fastest, most powerful phone on the market.... you know... the one his Steve-ness will be showing off in just under a week.

So, while Hank will argue that:

And so, while Steve Jobs is used to having the upper hand with his partners like the now supplicating record labels, this relationship is different. Indeed, Steve may hate the whole idea of Android, but he may soon need to get used to his new Google overlords just like the rest of us.

I'd go the other way... and say these two companies are perfect for each other.

Finally something Bloggers hate more that PR People

2008-05-02T09:15:00.002-04:00

Very excited... just found out there might be something that bloggers hate more than PR people.

Telemarketers!

(Of course... I say that and am not sure that reporters would be able to tell the difference between a telemarketer and a bad PR person).

Twitter in PR

2008-05-02T09:02:00.002-04:00

Todd Defren, a PR pro's PR pro, has a great discussion going on his blog about the value that Twitter brings to the PR profession.

His last point is the one that really rings true to me, where he says:

"Please note that I am NOT saying, “You can use Twitter to stalk the media!” No, no, no! I am saying you just might be able to forge a true relationship with these folks by interacting with them regularly, and in a purely social, “human” way."

I was in the middle of thinking about a reply to Chris Brogan's question about where I got started in Social Media (side note.... I am trying really hard to not make it something along these lines - which is why I am really struggling to come up with an answer for Chris). His question about advice to new people really got me thinking.

Here's the best advice I can give, but keep in mind it's coming with from a flack, and is likely aimed at the PR community...

Social Media makes the reporters and bloggers that we, as a profession, pitch, into humans. It creates an opportunity to build relationships with actual people, and let's you have more insight to the actual people you're hoping to work with.

In other words... I agree with Todd.

Twitter's having problems and I am freaking out

2008-04-21T11:36:00.003-04:00

I talked about it previously, but since then, Twitter has really become my hub of communications. Today, I logged into Twhirl, and only had a couple of updates. This doesn't happen.... ever . The idea that Scoble hadn't tweeted in close to 48 hours? Sheer lunacy.

I Google'd all over to see if today was some "national twitter off-day" or something, but didn't find anything. Turns out.... Twitter's feeds are having some issues, and I am only getting feeds from 2 of the people I follow.

This morning has been like trying to work with one hand... and it's really sad :-(

Bloggers and Flacks

2008-04-18T14:07:00.002-04:00

Chris Anderson started this whole bloody mess by creating his very own version of The 300 (and even taking it further by making it 329).

Sure- Lots of us in PR laughed when this was posted, but I can assure you that it was only after we used Control-F a few times to make sure our name wasn't included.... and then our firm wasn't included.

Today seems like a really great day to roll out a fun new idea, based on what's happening in the Blogosphere.

Marshall Kirkpatrick, from RWW laid out tips for working with ReadWriteWeb, which was met with some ire in the comments, and some good responses. Ironically, one commenter points to another blogger (Stowe Boyd), who is complete going the other direction from Marshall.

Adam O, from Mashable, posted his thoughts on the subject as well.

So... in the spirit of Channeling my inner-Peter Shankman (if you haven't seen Help a Reporter Out... it's completely worth it for Flacks)- I've created a website.

It's called Pitch-A-Blogger.

Why do this? Well.... it's simple. There are lots of tools out there for PR pro's that focus on giving us background on reporters (that said... it's still good practice to actually READ what reporters are writing). However, none of the tools out there have good information about bloggers.... perhaps because there's so many of them.... or perhaps because the service are lazy.

Who knows?

Why bloggers should feel safe: Well... for starters, I am a Flack.... and it seems to me that I am putting my Flack reputation on the line by trying to make this worthwhile. Second off.... not everyone in my profession sucks.... so I'm hoping to create a tool that makes this more obvious.

So, let's see how this goes. Updates will periodically be provided here at AFTB.

Did a code-caddie just get it right?

2008-04-17T15:55:00.002-04:00

Lots of folks are blogging about the fact that Comcast- the evil company that was throttling BitTorrent ... the cable company who's skipping the FCC Hearings .... and the same guys who set Dave Winer into a tizzy.... has actually done something.... dare I say it?.... proactive for customer service.

In case you missed it.... Comcast now has someone monitoring Twitter for customer service problems (the major irony here, of course, being that people without their internet connection are actually using their cell phones... you know.... the whole wireless thing that I think eventually kills off Comcast and friends.....to complain.)

While I don't necessarily share Nick O'Neil's absolute glee for a brighter future in customer service from ISP's... I think it may be time for me to tip my hat to the company, albeit with a somewhat skeptical viewpoint. After all.... the mainstream isn't using Twitter (yet).

Call it my jaded view of ISP's.... but I can't shake the feeling that this might be a PR move to attempt to get in/stay in the good graces of the tech scene and its reporters?

Yes... I can !!?^&$@'ing Hear you

2008-04-08T09:56:00.002-04:00

So, as a PR guy, I feel like I may be crossing the line here, but hey, it's cool.

There's tons of media members who have publicly flogged PR people.

See here for Chris Anderson's rant, which is likely the most famous (and quite possibly the most hilarious) of the floggings. I admit it... Chris's rant was really on point, and I hope any reporter would tell me if I was walking that line. True story... I have never sent out a pitch letter without reading at least 3 of a reporter's stories, and the firm I work for really frowns on carpet bombing reporters.

But... this has to be done.

I get ton's of Google Alerts. Inside PR Secret: We read lots of things about our clients and clients' competitors. If you're in a situation where you're working with a PR firm, ask your day-to-day contact what Google Alerts they are reading on your behalf, and feel free to offer additional keywords that may have an impact on your business.

I digress.... if you check out my company's website, you may realize, one of our clients is a company named HearMe.

So... now... backstory aside.... as a PR guy... I realize this isn't my place to ask journalists for a favor... but I am going to do it anyway.

If you're a journalist, and you're reading this... I implore you to stop using "Can you hear me now?" as the title of your story. I get it.... it's catchy. Verizon is still using it today, so it even gives readers a feeling of familiarity. But, in the past 10 days, I have received at least 3 stories daily with that exact title.... most of them from fairly large newspapers and magazines.

It's no longer original... so please.... let this annoying catch phrase go the way of WHAZZZZZZZZ UP and the talking bud. weis. errrrrrrrr frogs.

The new and the shiny

2008-04-02T12:28:00.002-04:00

Here's a confession that most PR people hate to/won't admit:

I didn't have a blackberry and I liked it that way. In the PR field, especially when you've got clients all over the world, you really do expect that clients may need things at weird hours, and my thought was always along the lines of this:

If it's really important, you can call my cell phone.

In a typical day, I am never more than about 4 minutes away from an internet connection, so most likely... I can get a client whatever they need within 15 minutes. I tend to save really important things to Google Docs, that way I can access them anywhere.

Then... last week... it happened. My VP informed me I was getting a blackberry.

In the few days since, I have a few observations, that I thought were worth passing along

I am so used to text messaging that having a QWERTY keyboard took some getting used to (I can't tell you how many times I tried to type the letter C and ended up with "aaa")
I am literally addicted to it. Out with friends for a drink? Yup... I'm checking my e-mail. First thing I do in the morning and last night I do at night... Yup, I'm checking my e-mail. Waking up at 3am to run to the restroom?... Yup, I'm checking my e-mail. You get the point.
I think I have sprained my thumb playing brickbreaker.

So.. there it is. No links or discussions of stuff going on... just my first few days with a blackberry. Any advice for getting myself to step away from it (or worse, any recommendations on apps I should be looking to download?). Hit me up in the comments.

Facebook recommendations

2008-03-28T22:03:00.002-04:00

Wow.

Here's what I have learned so far... it's really tough to maintain a decent blog. Lots of developments all over the place, and I have been quiet. Where do people find time to do this?

grrr.

Anyway. Let's pick up with Facebook's linkedIn.com rip-off new-toy.

I hate to say it.. but it's brilliant. LinkedIn always gave me..... on a good day... maybe one person who I had at least heard of (PS. I don't really imagine the President of a PR firm I declined an offer from becoming a professional connection).

The Facebook version..... Rocking. Mind you... there's lot's of people I wouldn't want to reconnect with that are offered (ex-girlfriends who are now married to the guy that replaced me.... you needn't to apply)... but at least I will say this:

The results I am getting are people I have definitely met in person... more than once.... and I think it's awesome.

Great work to the Facebook developer team.

Now... go find a way to Monetize the site, and I'll be even more impressed.

AOL Buying Bebo?

2008-03-13T08:47:00.002-04:00

There's a rumor circulating that AOL has bought Bebo... and it's backed by some pretty compelling evidence.

I really like the move on AOL's part. Instead of overpaying for a social network at the absolute peak of their hype, they're buying an up and comer, and have the potential to bring it to the masses.

Why do I think this works? Simple.

Nick O'Neill wrote a great piece on how e-mail was going to end up being the social network of choice. It's well worth the read if you have a few minutes. But, with so many people on so many different e-mail platforms... it's written from a very long tail perspective. On the other hand... if AOL can somehow integrate their new network into AIM, which apparently has 50% of the IM market, it's a complete homerun.

Should be an exciting task for Platform A's new CEO.

Hug of the titans?

2008-03-07T09:23:00.002-05:00

Three days ago I wrote about the irony of Google Gears/Apps running on the Windows Mobile platform.

Well... yesterday, Apple thickened the plot pretty substantially.

To sum up:

Apple's iPhone now integrates with Microsoft Exchange to work in enterprises.

Microsoft is a sworn enemy of Google... who's Gears announcement and Google Docs compete with Microsoft Exchange... but also work on Microsoft Mobile

At the same time, Google also has lots of functionality on the iPhone.... which now also works with Microsoft.

Is it me... or is Apple playing both sides of the fence here?

Haven't we been here before?

2008-03-05T11:41:00.003-05:00

I'm not sure if this is true for anyone else, but when I first started being a web user, AOL was my first destination. It was a portal as well as a content provider, so I could get news, sports, etc and also be an active part of community 1.0- Message Boards.

Eventually, I started venturing out (in those days... we called it 'surfing') to find communities and news sites that were more specific to my particular tastes.

Now, with Social Networks being the rage... I think we're starting the see the same thing happening, as niche sites are jumping onto the bandwagon and building more niche audiences.

Travel: Yeah, we've got that one covered
Finance: Absolutely not a problem
Even Steven Speilberg is rumored to be jumping into the fray.

The real question for me is whether or not these sites work as compliments to the Facebook's of the world.... or whether the ultimate end up taking traffic away, leaving Facebook as a still powerful online property... but one that, like AOL, becomes more of a distant memory.

Clash of the Titans

2008-03-04T11:43:00.002-05:00

The past few days have brought out one of the best versions of the old "Anything you can do, I can do better" than anything in recent memory.

We've got battles raging on the health care front, the document sharing front, and now... the mobile front.

Of course, I'm talking about Microsoft Vs. Google.

I want to focus on the latter battle slightly, because the irony is pretty thick: Google just made it possible to run Google Apps off line through Google Gears on mobile devices running... wait for it.... Windows Mobile.

Odd, huh?

Sprint Step 1- Complete

2008-02-29T08:41:00.002-05:00

Despite a really rough day for the company... a day in which the could have almost purchased Yahoo with their losses (hey look, a company who HASN'T been linked to Yahoo)... Sprint had what I consider to be an all right day... completing Step 1 in my argument that Sprint should redefine the Triple Play (phone, Internet and cable) and make it a wireless play.

In case you missed it, Sprint rolled out a new Simply Everything plan that includes unlimited talk, text, TV and web time on your cell phone.

Why is this big?

In my mind, there's a fairly lengthy list of reasons, not the least of which is that Sprint may have just convinced me to stick with my loyalty to them and not get a JesusPhone any time soon, which had been a front burner issue for me.

Second, and likely more importantly.... it opens up the door to a truly Wireless Triple Play option. We know Sprint has dabbled with mobile TV, so there are clearly some sort of options going on. In addition, Xohm is rolling out slowly now in a few test markets.

So, here's the question: We know that most triple play option offered from code caddies tends to run around $100 monthly for Cable, Internet and TV. Figure a "normal" cell plan costs around $50 (and I am coming in at a price I believe to be slightly low... but not everyone is like me and working off of a cell as their only phone).

That leads to Sprint putting together some sort of a premium for complete mobility. I'd think $50 monthly would be completely worth it. What about you? How much would you pay if the triple play was Cell phone, Mobile WiMAX, and TV sent to your phone and laptop?

Touched all over

2008-02-27T09:02:00.002-05:00

First off, I want to quickly congratulate Jeff Pulver on a great event yesterday morning. Jeff has been traveling the country throwing Social Media breakfasts, inviting Facebook and Twitter friends to get to know each other in person.

It's not entirely dissimilar from an event like the NY Tech Meetup, from Meetup.com, but in this case, you have some sort of connection already in place (friend of a friend, etc). Taking it a step further, Jeff explained that he thought using Facebook made great sense, because instead of the standard business card exchange, it's really easy to log into Facebook, find members of the group who you'd like to stay in contact with, and easily add them as friends (side note: after the event, I had lots of new Facebook and LinkedIn contacts, which was great).

The event came pretty much on the same day that the blogosphere was all abuzz with the launch of Friendfeed, a service to aggregate feeds from lots of networks (Twitter, Facebook, Digg, etc). I signed up for it.... but haven't really played with it too much yet.

During Jeff's event, I got to thinking about the different ways people can now get in touch with me, and I am wondering if I am getting to the point where I have too many touch points. In no particular order, here's a list of ways to get in touch with me:

Cell Phone (calls and text messages)
Twitter
AIM
Google Talk
E-mail (personal and work)
Facebook
LinkedIn
AFTB
MySpace (I'm still on it... maybe.... once a month?)
Friendfeed (admittedly... this one isn't yet a full blown contact point for me)

Not to go all "one ring to rule them all" here, but at some point... doesn't it make sense to have everything aggregated into a central location? Maybe Friendfeed can be that tool, but based on limited time on it... I'm not sure that's the case.

How do you deal with having so many touch points? Any tips?

Adventures in Going Mobile... on Twitter

2008-02-25T12:27:00.002-05:00

TheSocialTimes.com finally convinced me to try taking Twitter mobile. Let's say it was a bit of an adventure on my part... not entirely because I'm not tech-savvy.... but because technology was conspiring against me.

First off... I entered my phone number like I was supposed to... but somehow missed the "place a '1' in front of US numbers." Completely my lack of paying attention. My mistake.

Then.. I figured that out...and texted the code they asked me to text.

New problem: My phone automatically makes the first letter of a text Capitalized... oops.

I realize that's happening.. and it still doesn't work. Now... terribly perplexed... I read the FAQ's, and realize the default on my phone ends with a signature.... which I need to remove.

Finally: SUCCESS. I even let my friends over at theSocialTimes.com know I took their advice.

One more problem: Apparently... Twitter saved all of the attempted tries to go mobile... and once I finally was successful.... it posted them.

Here's a weird privacy question I have though: Twitter mistakenly just posted a few different variations of my account password to set up a phone. That can't be good, can it? I understand.. it's pretty much my own fault... but um.... this is a user error with a few challenges (imagine if something happened when I tried to set up my bank account to go mobile... if I had cash worth mentioning... this would be a major issue.).

So, to all of my Twitter friends who were wondering why I had 3 or 4 Tweets with some random variations of text (no.. I wasn't tweet'ing from a bar)... I apologize for spamming you. It wasn't at all on purpose. But... I can say.... it is a weird experience.

I guess that's why the plants that are smart enough to use Twitter are running through a laptop.

Too good to be true

2008-02-21T10:28:00.002-05:00

Yesterday... I fell for it. Netflix-streaming actually working on the Xbox was such a great idea, I couldn't get over the simplicity and brilliance.

Today... I admit that I was had.

Instead, Microsoft made it so that if I want to... I can play a game that some other Xbox-er created. Great... Neat-o.... woo hoo

Seriously.... I don't know that I could be any less impressed with this announcement. That said: I'd like to offer Microsoft one small hint that might make me a little less unhappy with them.

Please put some pressure on EA Games to make their servers work better for playing XboxLive. Playing Tiger Woods with a friend across the country gives one the feeling of playing golf with slow motion epilepsy. It's like the Cloverfield Effect gone horribly wrong.

So there it is. Instead of leaving me completely dissatisfied... there's an easy way to offer a little consolation.

Netflix streaming might finally make it to my apartment

2008-02-20T08:42:00.002-05:00

But it sure wasn't how I expected it to happen. Rumors are flying all over the net that later today, Netflix is going to be coming to an Xbox near you.

First off, I admit it.... this seems like a perfect marriage. The biggest complaint I've heard about Netflix streaming is that it doesn't make it to the TV, rather the computer monitor. For some people... this is a definite non-starter.

If done right, this is an absolutely brilliant move.... which is tough for me to say considering a pretty heavy anti-Microsoft bias. Sure, it might not make me cry (sorry Scobes.... I couldn't help it), but until the announcement later today.... I'm almost at the point of having to tip my hat to Microsoft.

Of course... this brings up a whole new question for me personally.

Microsoft makes Silverlight, which is going to power MLB.tv
Microsoft makes Xbox which is going to be streaming Netflix

Dare I say it.... might there be a way that I can get MLB.tv on a flatscreen?

yAOLhoo? or YaSpace?

2008-02-16T14:04:00.003-05:00

First, a tip of the hat to Jerry Yang for declining Microsoft's advances, at least initially. I don't know for sure, but I have to assume it was a huge boost of confidence to a once proud internet property (and an internet property that still has a ton of loyal users) and its employees. Of course, that's just my perception, and clearly... this didn't work for everyone.

There was, naturally a few rumors of a yAOLhoo type creation coming out of it, and now there's talk of a YaSpace. I tend to agree with Henry Blodget, this one really shouldn't have any legs. MySpace and Yahoo are both victims of declining traffic and hype, having lost their diminence to other players (namely: Google and Facebook)

So... where does that leave Yahoo now?

Quite frankly... it now looks like Paul La Monica was wrong when discussion the Wall Street Journal takeover. Microhoo might have replaced that takeover as the lamest bidding war ever.

Advertising in a Mobile World

2008-02-13T19:39:00.002-05:00

Last night at dinner with a bunch of friends who are very sharp when it comes to the web and marketing (as two different areas of expertise... not as in 'web marketers'), we got into a great discussion about the mobile wars, and the impact of them on the consumer. All around, everyone seemed to agree with me that there's a boatload of disruptive technology about to make its appearance on the market... but there was one thing I couldn't help but take away, and it came up when one of my friend in marketing began discussing advertising in the mobile world.

There are tons of players looking for ways to take advertising to the mobile level, including AOL, Google and Yahoo. However, there's one question we all had for my marketing friend:

Do you really want to be advertised to on your mobile device? Does anyone?

The Mobile Wars- Game on

2008-02-11T20:43:00.000-05:00

What a fun day for anyone who happens to be excited by any and all things mobile.

First off, we had AOL put an entrance into the market. Although it isn't a phone, per se.... it is AOL attempting to get into the game with a mobile platform.

Speaking of things that aren't phones... We had our first true look at Android. Based on the initial video, I have to say... it looks pretty cool, and I can't wait to see more. Android has the potential to be the one thing that actually manages to keep an iPhone out of my hands, assuming that Google apps are integrated to the highest level of functionality.

Finally, Microsoft has decided to get into the consumer phone market, making a purchase that puts Apple and the Jesus-phone right into their sites (BTW: think it's a coincidence that this was announced on the same day the gPhone made it's debut)?

Owen Thomas said it best ...the ad libs are better than anything we could have written. Of course, Owen is referring to the MicroHoo deal that supposedly isn't to be. You know the deal, where Yahoo's mobile apps might end up being a key piece of the likely forthcoming ZunePhone (in the spirit of current naming conventions: I am calling it the my!Phone from here on out... with the simple irony being that under NO circumstance will it ever actually be a phone I own).

It should be a very exciting next few months, as the repercussions of today's excitement start to take shape.

Where Social Networking started for me

2008-02-08T16:01:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, there was a great post on theSocialTimes.com talking about meeting people who are part of your social network, and the initial interaction you have when you meet those people in the real world.

Believe me... I get where he's coming from.

That said, it got me thinking about where Social Networking really started for me, and I'll give you a hint... it wasn't the first time I signed up for Friendster. Understanding that it's really easy to find out the exact details on where the phenomenon came from (Here: I'll even save you the trouble), I was thinking about the first time something that resembled social networking, as it is today, became commonplace to me.

Not surprisingly, my very first social network centered around baseball... and in particular... the Boston Redsox. That said, I am ignoring the Wiki definition, and taking it a step further... believing that Social Networks are a logical extension of a web 1.0 application: Message Boards.

The site I linked to above is a geek's haven for Redsox fans and Statistical nutjobs... and I say that as:

A complete and utter term of endearment
Someone who's a member of that message board community (until now, I had never thought of it as a community... but it most certainly qualifies).

I don't know how long I have been a member of the message board (I do know I was using dial up when I first joined), but over the years, I've come to expect different reactions from different people on any particular event. For example, when the news that Curt Schilling may miss the season broke, anyone who's been in the community for a while knew exactly who was going to rant about this being even more reason the Sox should have traded for Johan Santana.

Not dissimilar from the way I go to Twitter for tech news, that's the first site I was going to go to, even prior to going to Schilling's blog itself. Lets' be honest... despite being one of the most outspoken athletes on any particular subject that happens to come up... Schill doesn't break news on his blog.

Back on topic- that message board is also the first web site where I met the users in person. Each year, in a lot of cities, select members organize trips to a local ballpark to see the Sox play. In DC, we took it a step further and met once a month to hang at a bar and watch the team. We even had a code for meeting each other (since there weren't pics on the site at the time). It was asking the bartender "where are the asshats?" Somehow.. it always worked. (Sidenote: Trying this at a Yanks/Sox game... walking around in NYC bar in a Redsox hat is most definitely not something to try).

Where am I going with this?

Quite simply... Here's what I'm thinking:

Social Networking as we know it now is just another step as to where the Web is heading, meaning it has been around for a lot longer than anyone wants to admit, and isn't some sort of 'new web.' With that in mind... I can't wait to see what's next.

So, what's your "first social networking experience?"

8 days a week?

2008-02-04T13:02:00.000-05:00

In case you missed it, there was a 5 hour pregame event leading up to last night's new episode of House. Apparently, Alicia Keys and Tom Petty played, and they even held a football game to build momentum leading up to TV's best show.

Working as a flack, I'm often torn away from keeping any semblance of a normal TV routine (this doesn't count that fact that I didn't bother with cable, because most of what i want to watch can be found on the internet anyway).

So, the goal for me yesterday was a simple one: Watch last week's episode of House online, watch the 5 hour warm-up (including commercials) leading to the new show, and then watch the new show.

Imagine my surprise when I found out that Rupert's Empire, which I typically think is ahead of the curve in online video (after all, they worked with Hulu to have streaming superbowl commercials... they launched a successful show on MySpace that is getting picked up on another network) has a policy that makes me wait 8 days until after an episode airs to find it online.

I'd even accept 6 days... making it so I can watch the episode at least 1 day in front of another new episode... but apparently Rup's not having it. Apparently, you get 2 options now.

Fall behind and try to guess what happened last week based on what's going on in a new episode
Stay perpetually behind

I understand that TV's business can be based on appointment viewing (i.e. getting higher rating during a specific time)... but this seems to make it harder to attract an audience each week. Is it any wonder that Tivo/DVR and illegal downloads are so popular?

One day, the cable networks will figure it out. They need to, otherwise they are faced with heading the same direction the music industry went.

$4.6 billion to shift a paradigm...$44.6 billion to stay an also-ran

2008-02-01T10:45:00.000-05:00

Dan Frommer just posted a really thought provoking piece on how Micro-Hoo could be a really solid win for Mobile. I don't disagree that this deal could have a profound impact, but I'm taking a different approach as to why:

While some have said Google wasn't involved in the 700 MHz spectrum to win it, I'm going to go ahead and disagree. First and foremost, we know that the company pledged $4.6 billion to the auction (despite the fact that many on Wall Street don't think this is all that great an idea). The actual winning bid (although not yet finalized) is said to be $4.7 billion, which I think is in the realm of possibility of Google winning.

So, let's call it $40 billion less than Microsoft is bidding for Yahoo (at these rates, what's a tenth of a billion count for anyway?)

All of that said, there's too many coincidences happening out there that make me think Google wins the mobility battle (and the 700 MHz auction).

Sprint and Clearwire kissed and made up
Google is said to be helping these companies along
While I openly admit to being a Mac Fanboy, if there's one thing that can hurt the iPhone.... it's AT&T. A gPhone running on.... oh, I don't know... a 4G wimax network might be awfully tough to pass up

I thought all along the Apple and Google would go in on the spectrum offer together, with the iPhone and even the Macbook Air being perfect fits for a 4G network. Besides the crossover on the boards, etc... there's also on distinct that made it make sense to me: Both companies have Microsoft in their sites.

Having Sprint/Clearwire in the mix makes this a little more difficult, but I'm still not convinced the theory doesn't at least hold some water (don't forget.. wimax evangelist Intel fairly recently began working with Apple, and Intel also has some stake in the Sprint/Clearwire re-marriage).

So, here's what I am getting at:

In one corner, you have the potential of Micro-Hoo to make mobility more easy to use and building ad networks. I'm also going to throw the ISP's into the mix here. Don't forget for a second that Microsoft is trying to turn Xbox Live into an iTunes/AppleTV competitor, and they will need to distribute it.

In the other, you have Google's spending power and vision, Sprint/Clearwire's budding 4G network, and Steve Job's ability to build entire ecosystems (hardware and software that work flawlessly together), all of whom pose a passion for mobility.

Should any of this be correct, I'll be siding with the latter.

Microsoft to Yahoo: $44.6 Billion has a nice ring to it

2008-02-01T08:31:00.000-05:00

What a way to wake up this morning.

In case you haven't had your cup of coffee yet, here's what you need to know. Microsoft put up a bid to buy Yahoo, for $44.6 billion. The idea, obviously, is to form a stronger competitor to Google.

I guess my question is: If a tree falls in the forest with no one around to hear it... does it make a noise? Combined... Yahoo and Microsoft have about half the search traffic Google does. $44.6 billion seems like an awful lot to drop in order to finally get to half of what your competition is up to.

Look, I know Yahoo is a once proud property, and the company should eventually end up in the Internet Hall of Fame (is there such a thing?), but the company has had a rough go lately, and maybe it's time to face the music.

I have lots of friends who are incredibly loyal to Yahoo (one of whom will be VERY unhappy if he has to lose his yahoo e-mail address... it's his last name @ yahoo.com), but the more I think about this, the more I can't help but notice I don't use a whole lot of Yahoo products, and I also tend to not use a whole lot of Microsoft products. In fact, the only thing that draws me to either a Yahoo or Microsoft product is baseball (mlb.tv will be running on Silverlight this year, and my fantasy baseball league is run through Yahoo fantasy sports).

And even though I use Microsoft and Yahoo for baseball... I still end up going to Google to find more information on specific players. My take... if a tree falls in the woods....

Reconditioned by Twitter

2008-01-30T11:02:00.000-05:00

Macworld crashed it.... Heath Ledger's passing broke there.

And now that Twitter is down as I type this... I am kind of surprised by my initial reaction:

Better head over to CNN to see what's going on in the world.

Anyway, unless John Kerry's supporters are crashing the service (I have trouble believing Kerry's an avid Tweeter), this one looks like a mundane outage.

Twitter.. please bring that tweet back.

Hi, I met you on the phone book

2008-01-30T08:27:00.000-05:00

Last night, a fellow flack from the company I work with and I went out to Whiskey Park for FlashMashMeet. First off: Kudos to Adam Hirsch and the Mashable crew for throwing a really solid networking event and party.

That said, as the event wore on and networking started to become a little easier (is it just me, or should someone do a study on networking events prior-to when and after after everyone has 2 drinks in them), I was shocked by how many people were using their Facebook profile as the way to stay in touch. Even those of us who didn't forget their business cards (I know... this is one of the 10 commandments of being a flack) were passing out their cards and saying "Hey, look me up on Facebook".

It got me thinking.... was Rupert right when he called Facebook a phone book?

I don't think so, but it's becoming clear that the "Social Utility" is muscling in on LinkedIn's space, and doing so in a hurry by creating one place for professionals in tech scene to stay in touch.

Taking it a step further, in a moment that Jeff Pulver would be proud of, I met Sarah Meyers. It may have been the most awkward introduction ever (seriously.... think 14 year old guy prior to a school dance asking the cool 16 year old girl to go with him). While social networks and twitter make it easy to start a conversation because... in theory... you know a little about each other... they also make it really easy to sound creepy (Hi, I follow you... on Twitter .... should never be an introduction.)

Anyway. What's your social networking meets the real world story?

Coincidence? Likely... but I'm still taking credit (sort of)

2008-01-25T08:35:00.000-05:00

It's been 9 whole days since I mentioned my displeasure with Netflix, but at least I have to give them this much:

For a major company, they managed to move pretty quickly.

In case you missed the news, Netflix is coming to a Mac near you, and not a moment too soon.

Maybe they heard the cries from so many Mac users, or maybe they were stunned by the outcry of the AFTB following... but either way, I do feel like it's a victory for all techies using a Mac, and quite frankly... I'm taking some credit for it.

So, Netflix. Thank you. Now, if I can be a real pain and ask for one more favor... Would you mind putting in a call to the nice folks over at MLB.tv?

Say it ain't so Ted

2008-01-23T20:38:00.000-05:00

So.. there's no shortage of bloggers who have entertainment value and snark and no shortage of tech bloggers who bring snark... but the fact is... over the past few days we lost an artist who made it required-reading and took it to a whole 'nother level.

In case you never had the chance to read Uncov..... I can't say it enough.... you apparently missed out.

Was the guy occasionally over my head (and by occasionally... I mean more often then not)?

Absolutely.

Was the guy hilarious... brilliant..... and well.... wait... there's no way I am giving him too much credit. He was a flack's nightmare.

Anyway.... to one of the best read's I'd look forward to reading.....I'm sad to see you go.

My morning as a webworker

2008-01-21T13:05:00.000-05:00

A little off topic

So, today is a holiday, and the PR firm I work with is "closed." As a side note, there is no such thing as a day off when you work in PR. Does Reuters ever stop broadcasting and writing? Have you ever seen CNBC display a "sorry, we're not broadcasting today because it is a holiday"?

Answer: no.

So, I thought I'd keep a running log of what my morning working from home is like, and what I learned.

9am: Sit in on a client interview. I took this one from my cell phone, and used the three-way calling feature. Note to self: the three-way calling feature on my cell phone absolutely stinks. In hindsight, I should have opened a bridge line, and had everyone dial in.

10:20am: yes... it was a long interview. I start editing some web copy for a client. I picked up the request from remote log in to my company e-mail, and went to work, editing in an e-mail. Here's what I learned: Never edit for a long time when using microsoft's remote log in. If you're in one e-mail for a long time and you then click "send".... it is possible that you will have been logged out and any changes are lost (if you happen to know... is it possible that there is a setting I can change to make this not happen? leave it in the comments and much appreciated).

11:28- I finally send out my re-written web copy (that I re-wrote twice.... thanks again Microsoft). Within 2 minutes... I get responses from other people who are "off" today. Gotta love a firm dedicated to customer service.

11:30- I move on to writing a press release. Apparently, I am one of the 4% of people using Google Docs. Although I have no doubt when I get in tomorrow, at least one person will ask me why. (Easy answers: Cost and sharing).

12:40 or so... I'm taking off for a couple of hours (after all... it is a holiday). Need to drop my laundry off (how is it possible I used to do my own laundry).

Final thoughts: I could definitely be a webworker (hey... I read WWD every day), but a few things would need to happen.

1- I need a mouse (which i don't currently have with me... since I also don't have a desk in my apartment(
2- I need to have a home office (the debate about where to write a press release focused on 'lying in bed' or 'sitting on a couch').
3- I need a conference bridge line.

Anyway... back to ranting about ISP's and talking other tech things tomorrow. Happy (rest of the) holiday

Why Sprint should become a cable provider

2008-01-18T08:17:00.000-05:00

Man oh man... The carriers are going crazy. Less than a week after it becomes possible to download movies off of iTunes, Time Warner drops this bombshell explaining that they are going to be charging for bandwidth usage. I'm sure this will add a lot to their bottom line... which it should... considering all of the people who will be flocking away from their service.

Here's what I found profoundly interesting: This is the same Time Warner aggressively marketing their triple play option just like every other annoying code caddy. So in other words... you'll be paying Time Warner for Cable, Internet, Phone and the right to actually use your internet connection and internet phone. Got it? Sure.. they say they're happy to put everything on one bill... problem is... it's going to be a really big bill. Heck.. it might even rival this bill.

So Sprint... here is my suggestion to you: Once Xohm is rolled out...redefine the triple-play.

I am saying scrap the land-line package all together. There's a whole generation of us who haven't had a land-line in years, and really don't have any intention of going back to one. Make the triple-play about mobility. Internet, Streaming Video (more on this in a minute) and Cell phone.... built into one bill.

Now: Streaming video. This is a bit out there, but it has effects in a lot of verticals, so bear with me. I think Sprint should negotiate with the networks in order to be the first provider of a la carte cable, all streamed via the net (sidenote here: You can almost see next year's Stevenote explaining that Apple TV is on board with this initiative... making the streaming video portion available on your TV)).

Think of it like this: If you could get the channels you want (and only the channels you want), what would you pay for them? My billing model (for the purposes of keeping it simple) would be $1 monthly for standard def channels, and $2 monthly for HD.

Why this works.

First off, in case you've missed it, there's a writer's strike that's been going on for a while now. One of the major issues is in regards to digital distribution, and for the sake of this argument... I am not choosing sides in the strike. I am saying that if.... say... Sprint were to come up with this sort of a la carte package and some sort of revenue split (let's say the networks get $.50 for each standard channel and $1 for each HD)... you've built a clear cut way to monitor what people are watching and can now pay the writer's appropriately (i.e. the networks are finally generating revenue off online video, something that hasn't happened yet)... and everyone ends up happy.

Secondly.. does anyone actually watch most of the channels that Time Warner provides? They come as a package... it's it's a one size fits all recipe. Quite frankly... I am positive that if Lifetime stopped appearing on my TV.... I would have no way to know... because, you know... the channel has never been on in my home. I'd rather pay for what I am going to watch. Now, some shows don't matter to me if they are in HD (Law and Order is a great show, no matter what the video quality), where as some networks would be an HD must for me. If I could get NESN in HD... I might actually become a hockey fan again.

Finally... going back to next year's Stevenote. Imagine if the iPhone were somehow WiMAX enabled. Verizon's VCast would presumably also take a hit.

In other words, Sprint would be gaining customers from Time Warner, Comcast, AT&T and Verizon. The writer's strike could come to an end and online video could become profitable.

Make this happen Sprint.

Apple TV rains on Netflix's parade

2008-01-16T07:11:00.000-05:00

On the odd chance that you were in a coma yesterday, here's a quick update on MacWorld, which pretty much brought out every tech blogger on the planet.

The highlights:

Apple released a really thin notebook.... mentioned that they're at something crazy like 4 billion music downloads (note to music industry- you're in trouble), launched a neat backup server and revamped Apple TV. The event was so wonderfully hyped that it managed a crash tools for live-blogging and Twitter.

Now, there's no need to go into too much detail with regards to Apple TV and its effect on Netflix... that's been done, a few times.

So here we are... a day after the Stevenote, and lot's of bloggers and media types will be analyzing what was announced and what wasn't (whither WiMAX???).... so they can give some sort of reaction.

Speaking of reactions... here's Netflix's reaction to yesterday's news.

Hey uh.... Netflix.... in case you missed it.... I'm a mac user.

Netflix- a little too little

2008-01-15T08:13:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, the blogosphere was all over the fact that Netflix is making their streaming video option unlimited. It was hailed as a preemptive strike on Apple, and virtually every blogger I read covered the story.

My favorite coverage came from Will Richmond over at Videonuze, and can be found here (even if I think Will missed the boat with his 'small percentage of the population' comment... seriously... has he EVER ridden the subway?)

Here's the thing that no one is saying though:

Netflix is making a move against what is allegedly going to be announced today at Macworld... but there's one major problem: Netflix streaming doesn't work on Macs.

From their FAQ's:

"Currently the Netflix Movie Viewer requires Internet Explorer Version 6 or later running on Windows XP Service Pack 2 or Vista."

Now... Netflix isn't the only company doing some sort of online video that isn't Mac friendly. Quite frankly... there's a lot of them. But somehow, I see this lack of Mac-friendliness as a really silly move for all of them. Maybe it's my perception (being tainted by my own reality as a Mac user), but it seems to me that the person who is most likely to step away from traditional TV and replace it with an Internet connection is a Mac user (if you happen to have numbers available to either prove me right or wrong... I'd be thrilled to see them).

You can read just about any blog written by an early adopter, and almost certainly... the writer is using a Mac..... so when does Netflix ad the rest of the online video community figure that out?

Oh well... it's countdown time to Macworld... time to get ready to worship at the altar of Jobs.

A Techie Institution Turns 100

2008-01-14T08:23:00.000-05:00

Over the weekend, I managed to actually sit down and watch a little football. During the game, an incredibly bizarre commercial ran (it's yet another commercial that makes me ask 'what marketing person should be relieved of their duties for letting this thing go through?').

That said: It's a commercial announcing that Converse has turned 100 years old. Upon thinking about it (and getting over the feeling that some marketing person is now sitting in the unemployment line), I started thinking about most of the techies I've work with over the years. After a few phone calls: the vote was unanimous:

Every techie I know has owned at least one pair of Chuck Taylors, and most of them admitted to owning multiple pairs. So Converse... despite the unnecessarily pseudo-artsy commercial (pasted below)... I say congratulations on making it to 100 years old.

Another Code Caddy annoys me

2008-01-11T16:24:00.000-05:00

I promise not to focus exclusively on Code Caddies... but seriously.... how did this ridiculous P.O.S. TV commercial (Thanks YouTube) ever make it passed a marketing department as a "good idea."

Code Caddies

2008-01-11T09:25:00.000-05:00

Really... I didn't have any intention of making the first few posts into an ISP-bashing festival... and I truly can't be blamed if they are going to keep making it unbelievably easy.

First off.. let's get something established... I am lumping wireless carriers and ISP's into one group. Mobility is here, and only will continue to grow... so in my mind, ISP's and Wireless carriers are now becoming one vertical. I'd lump them as "pipe providers"... but that's not accurate. I'd propose calling them Code Caddies.

They really only have one specific function: carry data from Point A to Point B.

So now, another of these Code Caddies is doing something fascinating: Verizon is making their "open wireless plan" completely useless. They are going to charge by the data usage on their network.

In the article I linked to, Dan Frommer said it very well: "Which means if you want to watch a lot of videos or make a lot of Internet phone calls, it probably won't be cheap."

Did Verizon just provide a glimpe into their version of 'open access' should they actually win the upcoming 700 MHz spectrum auction? After all... they never really wanted to offer open access anyway.

AT&T Commits a No-No... Sprint in a good position

2008-01-09T23:54:00.000-05:00

Two ISP related items today that have AT&T, and Sprint heading in different directions.

The first is this little nugget, suggesting that AT&T is thinking about dumping net neutrality. Rich Tehrani weighs in with a short, but to-the-point thought on this development.

Rich.... I couldn't have said it any more elegantly, so I am not going to try.

The second is that Sprint has now set a date to roll out Xohm, its Wimax network. Sprint... PLEASE make this happen. Seriously. This is a potentially game changing technology you're sitting on. (Here's a random little thought for you: If you were driving from NY to DC, which is about a 4 hour drive, how cool would it be to log your car's internet radio into Pandora to listen to music you'd actually want to listen to?). I can say, without a doubt, that I will certainly be an early adopter when Sprint rolls this out in the NYC area.

Anything I can do to get away from Time Warner Cable is a welcome move in my book.

So, what do you think? What makes you get on the Wimax bandwagon?

Getting started

2008-01-05T14:51:00.001-05:00

Here in the AFTB headquarters (i.e. a really tiny Manhattan apartment), I created this little blog. I had a few entries already kind of sketched out for what I wanted to write about... and then I got to thinking: How does one actually start a blog?

Should I just start with a rant about some program that isn't Mac compatible? Should I actually... wait for it.... not bash Sprint?

Well anyway... here's the deal. Because there aren't enough of them out there {/sarcasm}, I've started a tech blog.

The hope is to make it something of an entertaining read, and maybe even take come contrarian views and spark some discussions.

There you have it.... the start of another freaking tech blog.