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Congrats to the team over at Untappd for launching their native iPhone and Android apps last week. I’ve been beta testing for a bit and this is a much improved experience over the mobile browser experience. It’s much faster, allows photo uploads, and has a handy “notifications” center. If you like beer and haven’t heard of Untappd, these guys have become the de facto standard for “checking in” to your drinks. It’s been really fun to explore new tastes and discover what types I like.

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I’m headed to Portland (Maine aka “real Portland”) this week for what I believe will be the underrated technology (and beer!) conference of the year. Kudos to Steve et al for pulling together what I’m sure will be a great time. We have a big “todo” list but Let me know if there’s anything worth seeing out there.

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Denver Post prints partial quote, Councilwoman provides full context via blog

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I just love that my councilwoman, Judy Montero, has her own blog (on WordPress). Not only that, but she can respond to an article published in the Denver Post which printed only part of her prepared statement that lacks the full context of her response. Not that the news hasn’t been doing this “fit the quote so it fits our story” game forever, but now the public can easily see the other side.

Here’s what the Denver Post printed on in their story describing medical marijuana grow sites in Denver:

Councilwoman Judy Montero, who represents north and central Denver, went a step further, suggesting that the presence of grows in some areas might need to be re-evaluated as those areas look to redevelop.

“I don’t see the uses of medical marijuana grow facilities being consistent with our land- use visions for the future of these communities,” she wrote in a prepared statement. Such a clash has already occurred in Montero’s district…

This statement only suggests she’s against the grow sites (negative) then the article goes on to conclude that the sites are very much friends of the community (contrary to her point).

Stepping back, if you read the full statement it may paint a fuller picture of her thoughts on the future of the community (excluded text is highlighted):

The grow facilities you see on the ground today are a reality of today’s economic climate and obsolete land use policies of the past. Unfortunately, I don’t see the uses of medical marijuana grow facilities being consistent with our land use visions for the future of these communities – visions that include new parks, affordable housing options, retail, and other amenities that are the foundation of a sustainable neighborhood. So if market conditions start to change, I am not confident that grow facilities will still be considered an appropriate use as these areas start to transform themselves with exciting redevelopment opportunities.

I’m happy to see the internet is able to help balance the discussion and remove some of the power that the media has to form public opinion in their own views. Check out the comments on the article to see how individuals specifically ask what Montero’s vision includes…

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“If he cheated with you…” applies to business

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You may have heard the expression

If he cheated with you, he will cheat on you.

I’ve lived this first-hand, and it was an “aha!” moment early in life. A lot of things about personalities and relationships clicked after thinking about that simple fact.

Since then, I’ve noticed the same thinking can be applied to business: potential clients, potential employees, potential employers, etc.

If someone has “had terrible vendors” in the past or “worked for horrific bosses” or “has had terrible luck keeping good employees” it’s certainly something to commiserate with them about, but then an opportunity to dig deeper and find out why.

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As soon as I saw Facebook’s new “Ticker” (a.k.a. Facebook within Facebook) I wondered if Facebook was smart enough to “surface” the right stories to me. MG Siegler at TechCrunch:

But while all the competitors were busy making that button, Facebook was busy making the button obsolete. Today’s Open Graph changes represent a world where the button isn’t needed. Sure, it will continue to exist for certain types of content. But it will be more like an on/off switch.

Once I saw the long term plan (with the new Timeline), it became clear that the Ticker is the new Beacon. Facebook is told about everything you do. Then between a mix of curation (updating my Timeline) and algorithm (Facebook determining what is important) the stream of updates within Facebook will become meaningful again.

Or, at least, thats the hope.

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My Facebook List “Internet Celebs” is going to make “un-Friending and Subscribing” a very efficient process.