While driving home from work, I listened to an interview on NPR with Michelle Hackman. She recently conducted a study of what happens to the human body when you separate teenagers from their cell phones (this won Intel’s Science Talent Search contest).

So what happens when you takeaway someone’s cell phone?
You would think people become anxious. Right? And, perhaps it also might give people the jitters (her initial theory). But actually, when using a biofeedback meter, she found something different…

“I found addictive tendencies in my subjects. They almost went through withdrawal symptoms. And the way that I like to explain that is that cell phones and other sorts of technology are very inherently stimulating. And so when you take them away, a kid becomes understimulated, and almost doesn’t know how to entertain himself.”

There is something we can learn from this.

Other than the painfully obvious truth, that this study explains why we are addicted to these shiny object devices (i’m guilty) …there is another learning here. If we are constantly stimulating ourselves with these bright, backlit screen phones, are we allowing ourselves to experience the real life moments in front of us? We should never let technology take over experiencing every real life moment.

Or worse yet, it’s likely we don’t realized that because smart phones are inherently stimulating, we are not letting our minds wander, with empty moments to organize our thoughts, our lives and enabling our brains to be creative. My best ideas have never come while sitting at a desk, or in a conference room. What about you? They certainly have not come when trying to quickly send a Tweet while waiting for the elevator.

Relax your mind and let your conscious be free.

(that’s a Warren G rap lyric, BTW) On a weekly basis, I force myself to have time in which I’m doing things that are unproductive and not filled with stimulation from TV, computers or other technology. I’m not talking about therapy sessions or anything. It’s things like running for me (when you mute the music). Or sitting in silence for the 5-minutes after I wake-up. And recently, I’ve found that after working out, the sauna for some reason has been my go-to-place for letting my mind wander, decompressing …and every time I go, I’m coming up with new ideas or getting clarity of things that have been on my mind.

You have to learn how to control the technology. Do not let the technology control you.

And make time to be unproductive. Even if it’s for 5-minutes here and there. No TV. Intentionally do nothing. Your mind will thank you for not forcing a screen in-front of your face, just to watch Modern Family or make your move on the Words With Friends App.
–

KCTV5 asked me to come on to their afternoon show with Carol Long, and talk about Google’s announcement to deploy it’s first ultra high-speed fiber network in Kansas City. Of course, it makes sense Google is investing in this project given their products are based in the cloud (Gmail, Google Docs, Calendar, etc). According to market research firm Gartner, revenue generated by cloud services is expected to reach $148.8 billion by 2014, up from $58.6 in 2009 (20% compounded growth rate). I shared my perspective of what it means and how it will affect Kansascitians (Google also created a website for FAQs about the project).

After the interview, I had my iPhone on the table, recording to capture a behind the scenes. It’s nothing special, but I just wanted to provide another perspective when the cameras were turned off.

This is a simple blog post, intended to help clarify a question my friends have been throwing at me lately about @replies. It can get a bit confusing on how “what you see” and “what you don’t see” here is how @replies work on Twitter:

1.) If you start a Tweet with an @reply, the only people that will see the Tweet is the person you are @replying, and all the people that are following both the you and recipient of the Tweet.

For example, @heycameraman will see this Tweet, and the people who both are following me + him, will also see this Tweet:

2.) If you @mention someone within your Tweet, everyone that follows you will see the Tweet.

For example, everyone who follows me received this Tweet. Note: @Oprah will get this Tweet as well (but only if she checks her @mentions).

TIP: If you are @replying to someone, and you want to make sure everyone who follows you sees the Tweet, it’s common to use a “.” before the “@”. I prefer to use “<” and “>” with commentary before the Tweet.

Regardless of how it all works, I’ve blogged about how I believe that no one reads all your Tweets. So get over yourself. Dismiss the notion that everyone is actually reading everything you’re Tweeting. They’re not. And BTW, Twitter is only as valuable as the people you choose to follow. <– I sound so angry I’m not. I’m just passionate about this stuff!
–

A recent study found that 48% of people were led to purchasing product online by using a combination of search engines and social media sites. Not really a surprise when you think about how you use the web. This statistic supports a principle I always tell my clients…

All the digital channels support each other.

The customers online path to purchasing product, doesn’t live within 1 website. 1 tool. Or even 1 social network. It’s messy. They read reviews from strangers on Amazon and on blogs. They ask questions to their friends on Facebook. They look for how-to videos on YouTube. They might even Tweet for help. Customers do their research all over the web (hence why it’s called the web).

The web has changed how we make decisions and buy things.
It’s a daily utility in our lives. Google is our professor. We go online to do our homework.

As a company, how are you interlinking and weaving your content in all the digital channels to help the customer navigate through the purchasing funnel? Content strategies can be created to put content on the web to address all phases of the buying cycle to help aid the customer with information when they do their research. All the digital channels work together, and you need to have a strategy. Do you?
–

Earlier this month, I got to work on a fun assignment for one of my clients. The project? To video blog the Timberland store opening down on Newbury street in Boston. I posted the vblog below, so I could share it with you guys. What do you think? The objective was to have fun and capture what it was like exploring the new store (and this content would be shared with the existing Timberland Facebook and Twitter fans/followers). Toss your thoughts in the comments if you’d like. Don’t shy away from telling me if you think it sucks, either. No seriously. Hopefully it doesn’t

**update** it was cool to see this come through on Twitter, from someone i don’t know following @Timberland:

Yesterday, Sporting Kansas City asked me to come out and watch Chad Johnson, better known as @OchoCinco, tryout for MLS Soccer. Yeah, awesome huh!? (i was excited, i love soccer, i played competitive soccer growing up and i’ve had 2 ACL surgeries b/c of soccer), so I’m a *big* fan of the sport. I posted this video blog to show you what I saw watching @OchoCinco tryout for Sporting KC (formerly known as the Wizards). I also took some pictures and posted them to flickr. Enjoy!

Everyday I find myself with at least 1 message in my inbox asking “What tool do you use?” or “What website do you use for X or Y”. This blog post outlines what websites, apps, and equipment I like to use. This is a “living” blog post that I update as things shift. I started this blog post in July of 2009 and updated it in January 2010, and now have updated it again on March 2011. This is the most recent update.

Websites:

YouTube – main channel in which I post all my video blogs
Vimeo – secondary place in which I redundantly post some of my video blogs, HD quality here is much better than it is on YouTube
WordPress.org – blog software I use
gMail – my primary personal email
TweetDeck – the app I use at home for Twitter, I use the crap out of the filters functions
Tweetie – the app I use on my iPhone for Twitter
HootSuite – the app I use at home for Twitter to schedule tweets. If I Tweet from a browser, I usually just use Twitter.com
GelaSkins – I’ve got one of these on all my stuff. I’m really into the art community
Netvibes – this is my preferred RSS reader when I’m at a computer
Google Reader (mobile) – this is what I use on iPhone to read RSS
Delicious – I bookmark everything I find interesting here
VerticalResponse – my email marketing software

Photography:

Adobe Elements – my photo imaging editor
Adobe Photoshop CS5 – my photo imaging editor
Flickr – I upload and post all my public photos here

Video Software:

Adobe Premier – my preferred video editing software (this may change very soon)
Final Cut Express – my video editing software I use for my video blogs

Music Websites:

Grooveshark – the ‘google’ of music searching. I use this to quickly preview songs.
The Hype Machine – a great music website that aggregates popular remixes and songs people are blogging about or posting to Twitter
YouTube.com – i’m finding that just searching for music on YouTube is easy and quick

Video/Digital Cameras:

Canon SD750 – this is the point and shoot I use
FlipMinoHD – this is the camera I use to shoot my video blogs
Canon HF21 – this is the camera I use to shoot my video blogs
iPhone 4 – i use the front-camera on my iPhone to shoot some of my video blogs
Canon 40D – this is the DSLR camera I use to take my photos
Canon S90 – this is the point and shoot I use when my 40D is to big to carry around, i’m using this more frequently than my DSLR.

Computers:

Mac Pro (desktop) – this is my computer I use at home
iPad 2 (tablet) – i use this everyday as a my “in-between device”, i have the white 16GB wi-fi
Dell Latitude E6410 – i have to use this computer for work (ugh). if i could use a Mac …i would.
Macbook Air (laptop) – this is what i use on the road

iPhone Apps:

HootSuite – the app I use on my iPhone for Twitter
Sleep Cycle – a “smart” alarm clock that charts your sleep and awakes you in your lightest sleep cycle. i blogged a review about this app.
Weather Channel – weather reports
Instagram – photo filters/edit and sharing app
Camera+ – this is my favorite photo edit app
Stitcher – an on-demand podcast app, i use this in my car every day to listen to podcasts
Starbucks Card – this is what i use to pay for my Starbucks
Echofon – the app i use on my iPhone for Twitter
iMovie – small, but amazing video editing app
TripIt – great time-saving app for all your travel stuff
Hipstamatic – a stylized camera app that applies different effects to photos
CameraBag – great ‘quick-touch-up-effects’ photos application
TwitPic – my favorite app to share photos on Twitter
TiltShift – great photo app for simulating a tiltshift lens for your photos
Photoshop Mobile – great photo app for cropping and applying different effects
Comic Touch – add fun captions, balloons or effects to your photos
SlingPlayer – this lets me watch LIVE TV via my SlingBox
Foursquare – my favorite location based social network of choice
Facebook – FB for iPhone
Mobile Fotos – my fav app for browsing my flickr photos because it’s faster than the official flickr app.
AOL Radio – while Pandora for the iPhone is awesome, sometimes I prefer simple categorized radio stations that AOL has.
Flixster – a must have app for reading user reviews from RottenTomatoes.com for DVDs and new release movies. I launch this app before I rent or go to the movies.
RedLaser – i love this app because it keeps me from impulse buying anything. This will scan the internet for better prices, for almost any product online.
Paper Toss – Warning! This game is addicting. Object of the game? You just throw paper wads into a trashcan.
Fling – great puzzle game that’s addicting
FlightControl – great ‘traffic control’ airplane game. Sorta like a puzzle challenge with different levels.
iTextSpeed – clock your typing speed on your phone! I can type 47 words-per-minute. Can you beat me?
WordsWithFriends – turned based Scrabble that lets you play a on-going game.
Ragdoll Lite – the point of this game is to throw a ragdoll. It’s simple, yet addicting.
EliminatePro – this game is awesome, it’s like Halo for the iPhone.

iPad Apps:

SlingPlayer – this lets me watch LIVE TV and control my DVR via my SlingBox.
iA Writer – a great app that’s like Windows Notepad. Plain text, that’s it.
TV Guide – great for quick searches and lookups of what’s on TV.
Fruit Ninja HD – you slice fruit with your fingers. It’s a fun game, trust me.
Cut the Rope – this has been my *new* game I’m addicted too.
Minigore HD – i can never play this for more than 5min. But it’s fun.
TED – i try to sneak quick episodes in while eating dinner and watching TED.
Paper Toss HD – Warning! This game is addicting. Object of the game? You just throw paper wads into a trashcan.
Eyewitness – a gorgeous photography app that showcases high-res newsworthy photos from the Guardian.
Netflix – AWESOME app to stream ‘watch now’ movies and update your movie queue on-the-fly.
ABC Player – I pretty much use this app exclusively to watch Modern Family
Echofon – My favorite Twitter app for the iPad. It’s light, simple, and fast. One of my favorite apps to use.
Reeder – A gorgeous RSS reader that integrates with your Google Reader account. I love this app.
Scrabble – i LOVE Scrabble, and this version for the iPad is great to play with friends.
FlickrStackr – my favorite app for browsing my flickr photos on the iPad.
Angry Birds – a fun, physics puzzle game
Pinball HD – great pinball game that’s visually impressive
WordPress –  if you’ve got a WordPress blog, this is great for on-the-fly blog posts. It’s awesome because it supports multiple accounts.

What’s on my screen during any given work day:

I open and close many websites and a few applications in the given day. Here are typically what you would find open if you were to walk up to my computer during the day. You might be surprised to find that I don’t keep either a Twitter, Facebook, or Gmail open at all times it’s true, I prefer to “dive-in and out” during the day when appropriate.

Firefox – my preferred web browser software
Google Chrome – my preferred web browser software
Outlook – work email
iTunes – music player
Textpad – I work in this religiously, it’s like my workspace to stub out anything (e.g. short-term lists, copy-paste storage, virtual post-it)

Some of you will find this blog post interesting- some of you will not. I’m hoping for some it will turn your head to maybe something you’re not familiar with to check out.
(photo credit = beautyinmetal)
–

The multitasking gesture feature for the iPad for iOS 4.3 is fun and awesome. Watch this video blog and you’ll see what I’m talking about!

I’ll let you decide after watching this video blog. I really think this is cool! Perhaps, this is just proof I’m easily entertained

I meant to post this stuff sooner, but I just got back from Boston! Wow, that was fun. And it was for work. Is that possible? Like I mentioned in my previous video blog, I was there shooting footage for Timberland. Check out this video blog Amanda and I took the morning of the shoot. Annnnnnnd I should tell you, I filmed this with my iPhone and almost dropped my phone in the beginning of the vblog! You’ll see.

While in Boston, I also took some pics! Here’s some of my favorites from the full flickr set I posted.

This is Amanda! She’s who I shot the video blog with. Yeah, she’s super cool and really talented.

Here’s the view out of my hotel room in Boston (Park Plaza).

A video blog hello from the airport. Oh yeah and I DANCED too. Next time I’m getting more people to join me.

I’m not the first person to share this: when I graduated from college (University of Kansas), I thought I was ready to take on the world. I assumed I was armed and ready. I read this quote recently, and it caused a flood of thoughts to rush into my head about the demeanor and approach to business that I only learned over time:

“The one thing that over two decades of experience in the technology industry has taught me: never assume you know the answer. I find that the more I listen, the quicker I learn.”

- Padmasree Warrior – Cisco CTO

Often people are thrown into meetings to provide answers or clarification on what *you* think the solution is. But, is that necessarily the right approach? Why assume the answer you’ll provide is the best solution? The company I work for (Digital Evolution Group) makes it a point to live by the credo of: “the best idea wins, no matter who it comes from.” But as leaders, employees, and associates- it’s up to *you* to present solutions with humility. It communicates a level respect from you, to your team. “We” IS smarter than “me”. For example, if you take it upon yourself to present solutions in an open manner, “Here is the method to how I determined my recommendation, with objectives first and then tactics” you then set the platform for dialogue so you can listen to others so they can contribute and perhaps better refine, innovate and find the best solution.

just my thoughts and ramblings,
–

Right now many of my friends and clients are attending what is basically known as Geek Super Bowl Week, AKA South By Southwest (SXSWi). Unfortunately, schedules didn’t work out and I couldn’t attend this year. Bummer, but I’ll get over it. That said, I want to share the best advice I’ve ever received about conferences, from my friend, Zena Weist.

When I first started attending and presenting at conferences, Zena was at many of the same conferences I was. And I remember her pulling me aside to share a tip I still follow, even to this day. Her voice got real quiet, and she leaned in and said…

The best stuff is the side conversations.

Given I only had attended a few conferences, I had no clue what Zena meant at first. But I would soon realize what she was getting at was the “best stuff” was the interactions you had in between the presentations and panels. It’s the hallway convos and chit-chat at the food and drinks table. The information presented at most conferences is too much to consume at once, it’s hard to takeaway more than 1-2 things from each segment. The real “gold” is having meaningful side conversations with other guests and the speakers.

The ball is in your court.

It’s up to you to take action at these conferences to make an effort and strike up conversation. Study and scan the guest list and find out who you should “bump” into. Stop talking about the weather- jump right into discussing substantive topics you care about.

…but keep an open mind and listen.

It’s painful to watch and observe people who try so hard to prove their worth and expertise by trying to dominate a conversation. I think the smartest people in the room usually are the ones who are the quietest in the group. Side conversations often lead to situations where others are ask you to answer questions or provide advice on-the-spot. Never assume you know the answer. The more you listen, the quicker you’ll learn.

What about you? What’s the best advice you’ve got on conferences? Share it in the comments.
–

I video blogged with my iPhone front-cam the magical journey that was to Best Buy getting my iPad 2!!!!! At the end of the vid is the un-boxing and comparison to the iPad 1.

So far I’m impressed. Especially with how thin and light the iPad 2. It’s 33% thinner, and 15% lighter than iPad 1 (thinner than the iPhone 4). But it’s the speed of the dual-core A5 processor that is the biggest difference. When loading web pages, images and apps, it’s noticeable.

The up-shot? If you have iPad 1, there aren’t significant enough updates to warrant the upgrade cost. But, if you don’t have a tablet, and want one …the iPad 2 is easily the industry front-runner.

I tweeted other 140-character thoughts about the iPad 2:

And I also took some picture of the un-boxing:

If you logged into Facebook or Twitter and none of your friends, businesses or followers updated their status, what would happen? There would be nothing on your screen. It would be blank.

There is a burden that is inherent to using
social media.

My point? “The burden”, is the requirement, to continually feed tools like Facebook and Twitter with content. The platforms are dependent upon it. You must update these tools and interact frequently with them to get results.

Now think about your website. How often do you need to update your website? If designed appropriately, you can set it, and let it go to work for you. However, you shouldn’t ignore it after you launch it. A proper digital strategy would have a four-stage methodology that is perpetual: analyze, plan, develop/execute, and then measure (repeated as often as possible).

All Roads Lead Back to Your Website

Let’s say your other digital properties are in place, and are working perfectly and are firing on all cylinders (e.g. blog, email newsletters, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube etc.). Where is the last place they will likely visit, in the journey of learning about your business online? Your website.

• Let’s say you send a great targeted email that is relevant, timely, with a strong valued call to action. What is likely to happen next? They click through and go to your website…

• If your social presence on Facebook and Twitter is strong and performing well, where are you ultimately trying to drive your audience to buy online, or how to contact you for more information? Your website…

If you’re doing everything right in all the digital channels (and offline), how hard is your website working to achieve the goals you have when your audience and personas get there? Is it easy for them to perform the top tasks you want them to complete?

“One-fifth of respondents claimed their website was only ‘basic’ and not it’s core of marketing activity.”

- Web Analytics Association

When is the last time you lifted the hood up and brushed off the dust on your website? In the end, it is *the end*, isn’t it? Tools like Foursquare, Facebook, and Twitter are the current shiny objects marketers are obsessing about. But is your website optimized and designed to let your audience complete the top tasks they came there to do?
–