MySpace Downtime Sucks

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The dipthongs over at the world’s shittiest website, MySpace, have had the site inoperable/down since 6:30PST, it is now over 5 hours later and nothing is fixed. Needless to say, my site has received a lot of visits/comments on MySpace downtime from kids wondering whats up. Who’s going to make the MySpace killer? Just import people’s profile and friends (reserve a spot for them by email address until they make it over) and transfer all that information, it’d be genuis. MySpace doesn’t deserve a second (or 22nd for those of you keeping track) chance…

Top 5 Social Media Tools

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Well, since I’ve been tagged by Noah I guess I should use this as an excuse to blog. The meme is: what are your top 5 social media tools? I’m assuming that this really refers to any social software. If not, who cares? It’s my blog.

In order of importance/frequency of use:

      Facebook
      Newsgator
      WordPress
      Meebo
      Flickr

I can be found checking Facebook roughly once an hour (if I’m in front of a computer). It’s really how I stay connected with a lot of people, It’s also great for poking wars. This is definitely the biggest social tool to hit my generation (I guess MySpace is up there, too).

Newsgator is basically the same as Facebook, but instead of connecting and being social with friends, I consider Newsgator the way I ‘socialize’ with the world. I read my news, check my friends blogs, etc. I have a bunch of cool feeds and I’ll easily check this 4 or 5 times a day.

As the owner of 3 (soon to be 4) websites I’m absolutely in love with WordPress. It’s so easy for me to write entries, manage my sites, and keep my visitors coming back. I really don’t have to do any work. Plus, I could setup a pretty slick WordPress setup (plugins and all) with my eyes closed.

Meebo is great because I don’t three other programs open in order to instant message people. I don’t hold lengthy conversations online anymore but it definitely is a great way to keep in contact with people, discuss breif topics and just say ‘hi’ sometimes. Meebo is definitely one of the few tabs that are always open in Firefox.

Last but not least, Flickr is one of my favorite sites. I love pictures and by pairing them with my friends I’m pretty happy. Truth be told, Facebook is where the majority of my friends put their pictures (and now I can order prints through Facebook!) but Flickr is one of those fun, nerdy, web2.0 sites that I just love. I have a RSS feed for my contact’s pictures, I upload pictures from my phone. It’s just fun!

So, I’m curious, what are your favorite social media tools? If you can read this, consider yourself tagged. Feel free to trackback or leave a comment.

Flickr Groups

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I was bored and I realized how much fun pictures are. Seriously, I love the vast amount of media (video, pictures, comics, audio) online. I decided I was going to try to post a new picture on Flickr every day (until I run out of bandwith (or stop being cheap)). I posted a few today and created corresponding groups. The first is a picture of my keys; I’m interested in what everyone elses’ key chain looks like. The second is a screengrab from my semi-secret Facebook friends photo mosaic. Yay pictures!

Server Response SMS

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If I can find just one person who understands these codes that’d make my day year. I don’t know why but I’d get a certain amount of pleasure using server response codes to converse. Someday, I can imagine this moving into everyday conversation, just like ‘lol’ and ‘omg’ I can tell that girl that her dress is 406.

WDYDAD?

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What do you do all day? That’s the question Noah asked and answered. I thought it might be fun to jot my schedule down and reflect.

07:30 Wake up, shower, dress. Occasionally make some toaster waffles.
08:00 At my desk at work. Check email, do work, etc.
09:00 Grab a fruit and yogurt parfait at the cafeteria.
13:30 Head home for lunch, PB&J.
14:15 Back to work. Occasional meeting.
17:00 Time to head home for the day. Change clothes, read email.
18:00 Grab some dinner, often includes going out to eat (Chipotle!)
18:30 Work on side projects (yopos, Life With Women) and any work (b5media) I might need to do. Read. Blog.
20:30 Head to Lakeshore and play tennis, work out, sit in the whirlpool, etc.
22:00 Back home and time to watch some TV, relax, read.
01:30 Bed time! Might grab a cookie and milk before bed. ;-)

So that’s it in a nutshell. Lots of my day is spent at work (intern, big telcom company). A few days a week I’ll also work at Six Flags at night… so 6:30-1:30 is spent at work. Long days for sure. Obviously my life isn’t as exciting as Noah’s, perhaps some day the world will overemploy me. For the time being, I’ll make some money with my internship (and 4 other jobs), go to class, and work on things online.

Now, if I had the perfect schedule it’d look more like:

08:00 Wake up, shower, dress. Make a nice breakfast (eggs, toast, cereal), watch some news or read the WSJ for a half hour or so..
08:30 Start checking email, reading blogs, chatting with people.
09:30 Take a break and read a magazine or two in my massage chair.
10:30 Back on the computer to work on stuff until lunch.
12:30 Lunch time.
13:00 Take a 90-minute nap. Yay biphasic sleep!
14:30 Back up, rested and ready to work. Record my own version of Rocketboom/zeFrank.
15:00 Work on client work of some sort.
18:00 Done with work, time for dinner and some TV (Simpsons most likely).
19:00 Listen to music, relax in the chair, read a book for an hour.
20:00 Off to the althetic club to workout, play tennis, whirlpool, shower, etc.
22:00 Back home, do a little work/email and get ready for sleep with TV, etc.
02:00 Sleep time!

Maybe I need to start finding something I’m good at so I can do consulting! ;-)

Pirates Sucked

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Not to say the movie wasn’t entertaining, but, ehh, there were parts that made me cringe. Hard to say because I respect Mr. Bruckheimer so very much. I knew if I went to this movie tonight I’d regret it. Though, if you’re a fan it’s certainly one of those you’ll need to see in the theatre. Personally, I hate movie theatres and their ability to attract the masses. Apparently the population in my proximity has an IQ less than my shoe size. Anyway, love the soundtrack and some interesting (albeit over the top) fight scenes. Oh, and I love a movie where I’m part of the 10% that understands the majority of the wtty dialog (whilst the other 90% enjoys the pratfall and slapstick). I guess it has humor for everyone…

Overpromise and Overdeliver

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Everytime I tell someone about this great book I’m always corrected: “No, it’s underpromise…” Or so goes the old saying. Well, not anymore, says Rick Barrera. His latest book, Overpromise and Overdeliver is a smart look at how companies have used their TouchPoints to achieve “unshakable customer loyalty.” So what are TouchPoints? They’re what they sound like, they’re points where you touch your customer. Well, no, you’re not really ‘touching’ anyone, I’m sure there are laws against it. But you do touch your customer through your website (System), your sales people (People), or your latest widget (Product). By optimizing your TouchPoints you can and will fulfill your brand promise. Through case studies, Rick illustrates how brand promises at companies like Washington Mutual and Lexus have seperated them from the pack and led themselves to worlds of success… all thanks to TouchPoint branding.

I found this to be a fun read because Rick uses dozens of products and companies. I’ve never enjoyed reading books that tell you, hypothetically, how you should market your product or build your business or solve x, y, and z. Rick has provided numerous examples with some very interesting facts about companies you normally wouldn’t think twice about. Take Progressive Auto, for example. They created a credit-card-sized card that breaks in two. Give one half to the person you had an accident with (information all filled out) and use the other half to get in touch with Progressive. At Ritz-Carlton the employees are permitted to spend up to $2,000 to satisfy a customer. There’s a company that has exceeded their brand’s promise and overdelivered through their human TouchPoint. See? You can do both.

I also found Rick’s book to be interesting becuase it, too, exceeded my expectations. One of the companies he talks about in the book (BrainX) has provided it’s software and license on the CD included with the book (among many other things). In short, this book overdelivers and is highly recommended for anyone looking to build a brand, product or service.

Free Business Books

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Okay, so I’ve been keeping a secret from all my readers, I haven’t bought a book in over a year. Yet I’ve probably read 4 or so. “But Devin, how can you read books if you haven’t bought any?!” My answer to you is: have you ever heard of the library? Then my second answer to you is: have you ever heard of inBubbleWrap? It’s a side-project brought to you by the great people at 800-CEO-READ and it basically functions as a daily drawing for a free book. I’ve won three so far. I’m in the process of reading China, Inc which I got in the mail a few weeks ago. Another good way to get free books is to ask publishers for a copy in exchange for a review. I’ve scored another 3 or 4 this way and have a review to post shortly (way overdue). There you have it, my secret is out…

Karma

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I can’t picture a more ironic, yet somehow satisfying headline: “Enron Corp. founder and former Chief Executive Ken Lay, who was convicted in May for his role in the Houston-based company’s downfall, died after suffering a heart attack on Wednesday at his vacation home in Colorado.” (Link)