Adding to our body of new client work is a company that you most likely heard about unless you were living under a rock lately: Rumblefish (www.rumblefish.com). With VOXUS driving the PR ship, Rumblefish launched a new music service for YouTube (www.youtube.com) called Friendly Music (www.friendlymusic.com). The Friendly Music service is the first ever to offer non-commercial music licenses that last a lifetime to edit songs into YouTube videos. Think of it as iTunes for digital video. Not too bad of results if I do say so myself with 24 briefings and hundreds of articles resulting. Here's some of the more high profile stories:

- Associated Press (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-wires/20100623/us-youtube-rumblefish/)
- New York Times (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/28/business/media/28rumblefish.html)
- ABC (http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/AheadoftheCurve/techbytes-tunes-youtube/story?id=11030951)
- NPR (http://www.npr.org/blogs/alltechconsidered/2010/06/23/128060136/get-music-rights-for-1-99)
- Mashable (http://mashable.com/2010/06/28/rumblefish-friendly-music/)
- TechCrunch (http://techcrunch.com/2010/06/29/rumblefish-friendly-music/)
- Gizmodo (http://gizmodo.com/5575507/friendlymusic-lets-you-buy-legal-licensed-tunes-for-your-youtube-videos-for-2)
- Billboard Magazine (http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/content_display/industry/e3i14a7e72d3d44c14d9c4c11d4da9c480a)
- CNET (http://news.cnet.com/8301-17939_109-20009289-2.html)
- PC Magazine (http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2365573,00.asp)
- FOX Business (http://www.foxbusiness.com/personal-finance/2010/06/30/hulus-premium-service-plus-lawsuit-free-soundtracks/)

-posted by Andrew

Who said technology in the Puget Sound is just limited to Seattle and the Eastside? Recently, I attended the first annual SHIFT awards celebration, which honored South Sound companies that have shown technology innovation. Now it wasn't just a couple start-ups that were up for the award, Intel and MorphoTrak, both billion dollar companies with local offices were nominees. VOXUS client Internet Identity, an Internet security company that's been around since 1996, ended up taking home some hardware along with biometric ID company MorphoTrak, hotel Hotel Murano and building engineers BCRA. From my guesstimate, I'd say about 120 plus people attended the ceremony at Tacoma's Theater on the Square. All four companies who won a SHIFT award (which let's call a SHIFTy) got a chance to tell their company's innovation stories at the event. Pretty interesting stuff, but of course I'm partial to Internet Identity's story (see BAD cell phone picture of company CEO Lars Harvey below). The hometown company has  grown by 800-percent since 2001 to secure and defend some of the biggest companies in the world. Not bad for little T-Town. Here's to more Tacoma techies in the years ahead!

-posted by Andrew

It's a digital dilemma that has an outspoken tech entrepreneur comparing content aggregators and search engines to vampires, and newspapers to zombies. Keynoting the recent OnMedia conference in New York, chairman of HDNet and Owner of the Dallas Mavericks, Mark Cuban, made a bold statement. According to AdWeek, Cuban essentially said content aggregators and search engines are vampires, and newspapers are the chesty blondes who fall victim to their charms -- and ultimately get bitten. Cuban particularly called out Google as a Web giant that continues to reap benefits off of the valuable content that traditional media companies produce either through search or Google News .



“At some point, you would think that the vampires run out of victims—people to suck. Because they run out of content. But that never happens in the vampire story. What happens is, someone drives a stake through their heart. That’s the only way to stop a vampire,” said Cuban.

Which brings us to the next point Cuban addressed: the proverbial silver bullet. Here's what Cuban had to say about that;

“Look for new opportunities. The iPad is, the Kindle isn’t. The Kindle just reprints what you already do. The iPad represents a new way to present information and, most importantly, sell ads against your content. The Kindle looks nice, it’s portable, but ultimately, it looks like a first generation product that has no future. The iPad will allow content companies to present their work in a new way, and most importantly, sell ads against it.”

However, Cuban's bold vampire/zombie comparison isn't the first time something like this has been uttered. According to Crain's New York Business, in a keynote address to the PricewaterhouseCoopers Entertainment and Media Outlook last year, Dow Jones CEO Les Hinton compared Google to a vampire, sucking the blood out of the newspaper industry.

How did I come up with all of this information you may ask? I did a Google search:)

We've got our newest version of Twilight brewing on the Web and I for one am interested in if and/or how the Zombies will come back from dead.

-posted by Andrew

Unless you were living under a rock recently, you may have heard about a little announcement from Apple about the launching of the iPad. Fortunately, I work at VOXUS, which means there was no way I would not hear about this (we are a tech PR firm after all and full of Apple Fanboys).

Of course, the immediate reaction from many people was to compare the iPad to Amazon's Kindle e-Reader. While I haven't used the Kindle extensively (read know people who do), I was interested in comparing the two and found a couple recent blog posts addressing whether the iPad is a Kindle Killer. Here's one from online tech news site TechFlash and here's one from Ben Elowitz, CEO of Wetpaint.

Not sure I want to weigh in on this one since all I have to go on is the hype and not much experience. The iPad... is it an iKindle killer?



-posted by Andrew

In a move to get more personal, Bill Gates, the now Co-chair and Trustee of The Gates Foundation, has emerged with a new Twitter page and a web site dubbed "The Gates Notes."

The software-mogul-turned-philanthropist's Gates Notes site appears to be a repository for his thoughts on the range of topics from education to energy. The site is separated into sections like "What I'm Thinking About," "What I'm Learning" and "My Travels." On the site's home page, there is a brief explanation of it saying;

"Every January, Bill writes an Annual Letter, which includes his thoughts on the work of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and progress it is making toward achieving its goals. Interest in the 2009 Annual Letter was one reason Bill decided to create the Gates Notes website."

That annual letter came out January 25 this year.

Bills Gates' Twitter page @BillGates went live on the microblogging site on Tuesday, January 19 with this tweet: "'Hello World.' Hard at work on my foundation letter — publishing on 1/25." Gates was welcomed to Twitter almost immediately with a tweet from actor Ashton Kutcher, the unofficial ambassador of the microblogging site. At last check on Wednesday, January 20, just one day after joining Twitter, Gates had more than 240,000 followers. And since I love cyber-snooping, I wanted to take a look at who Gates was following. It was an interesting mix of organizations like relief organization UNICEF, celebrities like actor Ashton Kutcher and techno-geeks like CNET's Ina Fried. With only 40 people Gates was following as of late January, must be quite an honor to have the world's richest person following you!

While I'm certain Gates isn't developing any of the content for The Gates Notes or @BillGates, I'm relatively sure Gates has a decent amount of input (i.e. final say) into what is being published. Not sure what the driving impetus was for the new Internet push, but it certainly couldn't hurt The Gates Foundation's efforts. In this day and age, it appears nothing's off limits and everything needs to be open for the public.



-posted by Andrew

In a surprising turn of events last week, Google said it's willing to stop doing business in China unless the world's most populous country makes concessions over censorship and computer-security concerns. The move followed Chinese hackers reportedly recently prying into the gmail accounts of human rights activists.

Former Seattle P.I. reporter, current freelance journalist, Chinese American and longtime China watcher Brad Wong has an interesting take on the situation. In a TechFlash blog post, Wong notes that due to its "5,000 years of history to draw upon for strategies to gain and keep power," the Chinese government probably won't cave to Google.

Google's threat to pull out of China over censorship is a rare display where foreign companies have more often than not accepted certain levels of intrusiveness to gain access to a huge and growing market. With 338 million Internet users at the end of last June, China has more people online than the entire population of the United States, according to figures from the China Internet Network Information Center. 

A quote by Richard D'Aveni, professor of strategic management at Dartmouth University's Tuck business school, in a Christian Science Monitor article, is particularly thought-provoking. He says, "This is a no-win situation for an American [company's] entrance. I think China is going to want control over the Internet, and I think the fate of any search engine or Internet-based company in China is one that they are either going to have to cooperate with the government by allowing espionage or they are going to have to get out if they want to live by American values."

This Google versus China battle appears to be turning into more of an America versus China ideological battle that has wide-reaching ramifications for companies around the world. It's a classic case of censorship versus cash and it'll be interesting to see how this plays out.



-posted by Andrew

Recently, I made it out to the Seattle Auto Show, which featured hundreds of new 2010 cars in addition to some nifty concept vehicles and more. While there were a handful of some really groundbreaking cars like the Karma by Fisker and Tesla along with hybrids like the Ford Taurus, Toyota Prius and Honda Insight hybrids, for the most part I couldn't help but feel like I was walking through a soon-to-be graveyard of autos. Sure, people will be buying some gas guzzlers in the coming years, but I can't help but think... no HOPE... that in the not so distant future people will be turning to more environmentally-sensitive and less resource-draining vehicles. Unlike today where many of these cars take a good amount of cash, the next few years should bring a full lineup of new-age cars for both the haves and the have-nots. Sure, President Obama's new mileage standards may help fuel this drive for more efficient vehicles, but as an industry, I'm hoping the automakers realize it's not only the economical, but also the RIGHT thing to do. Auto show or car graveyard?




Karma by Fisker





Tesla Battery

-posted by Andrew

I love technology and I love looking at homes. So I couldn't resist posting this video of Ron Rosberg, who the media deem a technology icon to many in the Bay Area, building his tech-smart home in Clear Lake, California. Enjoy!

-posted by Andrew

Now I'm no expert of FOX's Family Guy show, but I do know enough to say the program definitely pushes the limits of prime time TV. So that's why I was so shocked initially to see Microsoft was going to exclusively sponsor a special Family Guy episode. The special was supposed to be commercial free with Windows 7 and Microsoft marketing messages built into it.

Here's a short preview clip of what the show was SUPPOSED to look like from YouTube:



But have no fear, Microsoft finally saw the light, pulling out of the show about two weeks before its scheduled November 8 airing. According to Variety's Mike Schneider, who broke the story, everything was humming along just fine until the folks at Microsoft went to the taping of the special last week and were shocked, SHOCKED to find racy humor and tasteless jokes about deaf people, the Holocaust, feminine hygiene and incest.

Here's what Microsoft had to say about pulling the 180:

"We initially chose to participate in the Seth and Alex variety show based on the audience composition and creative humor of “Family Guy,” but after reviewing an early version of the variety show it became clear that the content was not a fit with the Windows brand.  We continue to have a good partnership with FOX, Seth MacFarlane and Alex Borstein and are working with them in other areas.  We continue to believe in the value of brand integrations and partnerships between brands, media companies and talent."

Fear not, FOX says the show must go on and they're hoping to line up some new sponsors.

Question... didn't Microsoft know what kind of show it was associating with in the beginning? Maybe the Microsoft marketing/advertising folks should have thought long and hard about agreeing to sponsor the show in the first place. The backlash from this flip-flop might be worse than if Microsoft had followed through with the sponsorship after all. Windows 7 motto is "life without walls"... ironic... don't you think?

-posted by Andrew

I'm not one to blog about client news, but this one was just too out of the norm to pass up. Recently, VOXUS client Ryzex announced the oldest operational barcode device as part of its Big Upgrade contest (www.bigupgrade.com). But what's even more interesting is that after combing through numerous entries, Ryzex found what it believed to be the oldest operational barcode device on the same day the Google logo was replaced by the ubiquitous black-and-white barcode design. This was done to celebrate the 57th anniversary of the first barcode patent.

The oldest device, the MSI 2100 from the early 1970s, was found to be the oldest operational barcode device out of two months of submissions. The portable data collection terminal is battery powered and even includes a cassette tape for data memory... and get this IT STILL WORKED! So I admit this isn't as catchy as finding the first mobile phone, but for someone who lives and breathes AIDC (Automatic Identification and Data Capture) devices, this is pretty cool.



-posted by Andrew

You knew this was right around the corner with e911 services and GPS for mobile phones. Read an article recently in Digiday: Daily about what the developer claims to be the first hyperlocal restaurant mobile campaign. According to the article, users that download a mobile application are able to see where friends are located and what they are doing via detailed, interactive maps on their mobile phones. As part of the agreement, people will see B.R. Guest restaurant locations, with 13 locations in Manhattan, and if a friend is located near that restaurant. From there, the restaurant holding company is hoping social mapping will take hold and encourage two people in a similar location to meet up at one of their restaurants (with a little nudge from a free desert offer at all B.R. Guest locations).




Seems to me, this could be either a very successful endeavor or not, based on how people feel about sharing their exact location with others. Big brother or not, you make the call.

-posted by Andrew

Courtney Love, the widow of now deceased Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain, is tweeting (warning, these tweets are profanity laden) at the top of her lungs about the appearance of Cobain's likeness in the video game Guitar Hero 5. According to her tweets, Love is considering legal action against Guitar Hero video game developer and publisher Activision for the use of her late husband in Guitar Hero. The Guardian newspaper reports that Love is especially upset where Cobain is lip syncing songs from other artists like Bon Jovi.



Love Tweets, "(I) never signed off on the avatar, let alone this ****ing feature!" she wrote. "There's been four breaches of a very strict contract."

Love is also upset at a profanity laden diatribe by Guardian blogger Everett True where True accuses Love and former Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl of selling out. In the blog, True posted a YouTube video of Cobain singing various pop hits with the subject line "Someone gives love a bad name: Hint Courtney)".



Activision tells the Guardian that Love was very involved in the process of incorporating Cobain's likeness into the game, even picking out virtual wardrobes and hairstyles. But Love (as shown in the tweet above) says she signed off on nothing.

Seems we'll be hearing a lot more about this video game battle and Twitter will give us an inside look at it every profanity laden step of the way.

-posted by Andrew

PC World just came out with an interesting list of its top 10 tech blunders.

In order to stay as neutral as possible, here's the list without any comments coming from me.

What do you think?

1. Yahoo Loses Facebook
2. Real Networks Punts on the iPod
3. Sony and Toshiba Agree to Disagree Over HD
4. Digital Research: The Other Microsoft
5. Xerox Goes in an Alto Direction
6. Recording Industry Plays the Same Old Tune
7. Compuserve Blows Its Chance to Dominate the Net
8. Newspapers Fail to Read the Writing on the Wall--Craigslist
9. The Google Before Google
10. Microsoft Saves a Rotting Apple



-posted by Andrew

Recently, the honchos at General Motors reported the hybrid plug-in car the Chevy Volt will get 230 miles per gallon when it's available to the public in the next year. While the news created an initial buzz, there was almost immediately some cynicism and even backlash regarding that number.

That's because the Environmental Protection Agency has no way formal methodology to come up with HIGHWAY MPG for plug-in hybrids and it turns out GM came up with its own methodology. Also adding to the confusion is that the Volt fully charged runs for 40 miles before turning over to gas. To arrive at its controversial number, Tony Posawatz, vehicle line director for the Volt, said GM used a combination of the E.P.A.'s proposed methodology for measuring plug-in hybrid vehicles in city driving and the company’s own data on real-world driving.

Bottom line, though, if you have a place to plug in your Volt at least every 40 miles, you conceivably would never have to buy gas. Seems to me and plenty of others there needs to be new calculations for the value you're getting out of your car like cost per mile (electricity is 10 cents a kilowatt hour).  Of course that calculation doesn't give you a read on the Volt's environmental impact.

230 MPG... really?



-posted by Andrew

Hot on the heels of Amazon recently pulling George Orwell's "1984" off its virtual bookshelves for the Kindle and the company applying for a patent to post advertisements smack dab in the middle of e-books on the Kindle, the Seattle Times Danny Westneat has a critical article of the online retailer. I tend to agree with Westneat that having an ad pop up as you're trying to escape from reality by reading your favorite book can be annoying. However, having to support a business with new revenue streams is also the sad but true reality of the world we live in... cash is king and nothing's for free. Westneat, out of all people, should appreciate that because as we all know, the newspaper industry has seen better times.



(Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos)

-posted by Andrew

You've probably all heard about the iPhone app gold-rush, but what about the Twitter tool windfall?

You may be asking yourself, what's a Twitter tool? Simply put, it's an added on service to the social micro-blogging site Twitter that's recently taken off.

Companies are flooding the Web with thousands of tools—many of them free of charge—that simplify a number of common tasks on Twitter. For instance, some services let you automatically search for Twitter posts (tweets) that mention a company or person. Other programs let you easily organize the tweets that you follow, or manage how multiple employees use a single Twitter account. But forget outside sites, Twitter is also trying to cash in with these tools and says by year’s end, it will launch several new features of its own for commercial use, such as a directory of business users. The Wall Street Journal Journal has a good rundown of some of these Twitter Tools.

No word yet on how companies plan on making money on these tools if they're free of charge, but profit and Twitter (and most social media sites for that matter) has always been a touchy subject.

So my Twitter friends, keep toolin' along and come tweet us @voxuspr!



-posted by Andrew

So if the title didn't capture your attention, check out this video taken from last night's TechFlash Summer Event attended by yours truly (check me out at :48 in). The summer schmoozer was held at Seattle's Georgetown Ballroom and included a four hour ping pong tournament, bar consisting of beer and wine, some great catered barbeque, and hundreds of people from the Seattle tech community. Great event held by TechFlash. Look forward to the next one!



-posted by Andrew

In relatively big consumer technology news, online retailer Amazon has agreed to buy online shoe retailer Zappos for $850 million. Amazon said the Zappos management team in Las Vegas will remain intact and Zappos will continue to operate as its own brand.

Following find a video of Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos telling Zappos employees of his company's purchase. Bezos make a point of saying how similar the two companies are in this surprisingly low-tech, informal message.



-posted by Andrew

In a silver lining to otherwise horrific unemployment figures (currently the U.S. unemployment rate was 9.5 percent in June); it appears public relations professionals among others are bucking the downward spiral.

According to an article in the Baltimore Business Journal, professional staffing firm Robert Half International Inc. claims only 0.1 percent of public-relations managers (like me) claim unemployment. Now this could be due to many PR professionals being independent consultants and also the fact that in general public relations has low overhead… but WOW. Some other impressive fields with low unemployment according to the firm include budget analysts at 1.1 percent, lawyers at 2.3 percent and financial compliance officers at 2.3 percent.

Now I’m not about to do the happy dance, but this is some encouraging news for many colleagues in the PR field. One could take it as further recognition that even during this downturn, good public relations support is a valuable commodity that one cannot do without.

-posted by Andrew

Granted, I do live five minutes from downtown Seattle, but it's a rarity that I see any of the bright lights from the big city. Well, that changed this week when I saw a stream of light going right over my rooftop deck. And guess what? It wasn't Batman sending his bat signal into the night's sky, it was Seattle area super hero Microsoft trying to market its newly-launched Internet search engine Bing. Following are some pictures TechFlash took of the spectacle.





Although I can't see a direct correlation to a light show and Bing, I do have to admit that it had people talking and most people I know are already aware of Bing. Which... could mean mission accomplished in the buzz department. As for having any substance once all of the marketing hype dies down, that remains to be seen. But for now, Kudos to Microsoft's marketing team for a launch that sure made me and a lot of other people "see the light." Now is there steak with that sizzle?

-posted by Andrew

Frustrated with your cell phone? Then maybe you need a vacation. The New York Times travel section recently suggested you consider a visit to Punkaharju, Finland, which on August 22 will host the ninth annual Mobile Phone Throwing World Championships.



You can compete in the over-the-shoulder throw (where contestants are judged on distance) or the freestyle throw (where points are given for choreography and aesthetics). According to the New York Times, the contest was created in 2000 to provide mobile phone users with a cathartic way to express their frustrations with dropped calls and dead batteries. Note, you are not allowed to use your phones, one is provided by the competition's governing body.

The all-time record long throw at the contest according to the event's web site was 94.97 meters or approximately 312 feet. First prize is what else but a new cellphone (no word on what kind).

For those of who aren't satisfied with just a picture and some links, you can check out a video of the 2005 competition here.

-posted by Andrew

Apple has rejected an iPhone app that enables users to fashion their faces into portraits resembling the holy one, J.C. himself. The app, called Me So Holy (cue the 2 Live Crew song), has users take a picture with their iPhone, and then scale and crop that picture to replace Jesus' face. Take a look at a vide of the process below:

Me So Holy iPhone App from Benjamin Margolis on Vimeo.

According to Me So Holy developer Benjamin Kahle, Apple rejected the app saying, "it contains objectionable material." The move comes after recently Apple did a 360 following outrage of its approval of an iPhone app called Baby Shaker, a game whose objective was to shake a baby to death. Apple removed the app after a good deal of parental push-back saying Baby Shaker's approval was a mistake.



Other than being criticized for approving questionable apps such as Baby Shaker, Wired Magazine reports some developers have slammed Apple for being unclear about its App Store approval process. For example, FreedomVoice Systems in March told Wired.com that Apple hadn’t said a word about its iPhone voice app Newber for six months, potentially costing the company $600,000 in wasted investments. But for every app disappointment, there's a success story like Ethan Nicholas, an independent developer whose iPhone game iShoot earned him $600,000 in a single month.

No back to Me So Holy, the iPhone SDK agreement reads, “Applications must not contain any obscene, pornographic, offensive or defamatory content or materials of any kind (text, graphics, images, photographs, etc.), or other content or materials that in Apple’s reasonable judgement may be found objectionable by iPhone or iPod touch users.”

Does Me So Holy break the rules? Looks like its a matter of subjectivity. What do you think?

-posted by Andrew

This PR movement has particular interest to me since I used to work on Microsoft's Windows Mobile PR account at Weber Shandwick. Recently, AdAge reported Microsoft's main PR agency, Waggener Edstrom, won the Windows Mobile PR account, which has been held for the last five years by Weber Shandwick. This is the first time since Weber won the Windows Mobile account that Microsoft has held a review for the business. AdAge has a good article on the move. Windows Mobile was arguably a much stronger brand a few years back before the launch of the iPhone. The change comes as Microsoft gears up for the release of Windows Mobile 6.5. Now the question is, will the change in business change the public perception of Windows Mobile?



-posted by Andrew

Finally getting around to posting pics from last week’s TechFlash Live, TechFlash's quarterly meet-up, at Seattle's Palace Ballroom. It was a great evening of drinks, food and networking.

The highlight of the night was an on-stage interview between TechFlash's John Cook and Ben Huh of I Can Haz Cheezburger. Who knew someone could grow a company based on cats and LOL speak? According to Technorati, I Can Haz Cheezburger is the 10th most popular blog on the Internet with over 10 million page views a week. For those of you are not in the "know", I Can Haz Cheezburger is a repository for LOLcat images. Ben says he just wants to spread some smiles. While humor is one of the motivators, the money can't be a bad thing with I Can Haz Cheezburger being profitable from day one according to Huh through mainly advertising money.

Besides all of the LOLcat talk, the night was a great chance to meet up with old industry friends and make new acquaintances. Here are some pictures I took at the event.





Keep on LOL'ing. Ben Huh wants you to.

-posted by Andrew

Not much substance but it is quite cute. Check out this video from Zillow.com COO Spencer Rascoff video taping his 4-year-old daughter looking up homes via his real estate website's new iPhone app.


-posted by Andrew

Following up on a VOXUS blog post from last week, Microsoft has reversed a decision to not allow a bar to to open on Microsoft's Redmond, Washington Campus. Read the TechFlash article here. Under the compromise plan, the Spitfire pub will serve beer and wine in the afternoons and evenings, after 3 p.m., but it will be open during those hours only for scheduled gatherings and catered events. I have a feeling, this beer battle is not over yet.

-posted by Andrew

Who knew beer could raise such a ruckus? Microsoft just did a 180 on a proposed campus pub and that's caused a beer backlash which has seeped into the company's overall image arguably just as much if not more than some of the company's storied and not so storied products.

According to TechFlash, Microsoft put the kibosh on the Spitfire Grill opening a pub at Microsoft's new West Campus Commons area just three days before the bar was supposed to open. Spitfire is owned by Jonathan Sposata, a former Microsoft employee and owner of Seattle area startup Picnik. He tells TechFlash he was stunned by the decision and that he was given no explanation for the stoppage. Microsoft spokesperson Lou Gellos is quoted as saying, "The goal was always to create a cool gathering place for employees, but to do so in a manner that’s consistent with a business environment. We took a second look at that, and we were sensitive to the business environment. We decided we should do something more appropriate, and that meant not having a pub."

The original TechFlash article has garnered some of the most comments I've ever seen on a TechFlash comment board and now a follow-up by TechFlash is documenting the backlash which includes a Facebook group called "Bring Spitfire Back To Microsoft" which already has hundreds of members. Senior Xbox manager, Matt Patriot Gradwohl, formed the group and says on the page, "I am embarrassed to work at Microsoft sometimes."

Who knows what's next with Microsoft's brew ha-ha? One things for certain, this beer battle is far from over.



-posted by Andrew

Despite all of the turmoil with the car industry, two industry titans seem intent on trying to innovate, or at least appearing to.

Last week, we got a sneak peak at Chrysler's Peapod and GM's P.U.M.A. Take a read of Engadget's articles which I've linked above. The two vehicles both operate on electricity and are meant for local travel, but that's where the similarities apparently end.



vs



-posted by Andrew

Attention: you are about to enter the product plug zone...

Recently, I booked a plane flight for a long weekend vacation in Las Vegas. In fact, I've booked numerous flights as of late for what seems like a never-ending Spring/Summer of traveling (mostly for weddings). That's when a friend mentioned that I check out a site called Yapta (Your Amazing Personal Travel Assistant) to ensure the price I paid on flights didn't go lower... and if it did I'd receive an airline credit.



Now, I have to admit, I came across Seattle-based Yapta after recently reading an article in TechFlash, but the sites true uniqueness didn't quite hit me then. When my friend recommended the site to me, I thought "what they hey." Here's how it works, you provide your confirmation number for a flight and Yapta does the rest by constantly checking the flight for lower fares. If one pops up, Yapta emails you right away. From there, you can either call the airline yourself (Yapta includes step-by-step directions) or Yapta can collect the credit for you for a $15 fee.

What do you know, about a day after registering my Vegas flight, I got an email alerting me to a $75 fare drop and instantly called the airline and received a $75 credit. When I woke up today, about 12 hours after receiving the first credit, I found another email on my phone from Yapta. You guessed it... I got another credit for the Vegas flight... this time for $25. Total money saved (or you could say earned) with Yapta, 100 bucks. What an amazing service and to my knowledge I haven't gotten an influx of spam which is a bonus.

Oh... and Yapta recently launched a similar service for hotels.

Yahtzee... I got Yapta'd twice!



-posted by Andrew

Just when you might be writing it off as purely just a marketing tool or way to communicate with friends/colleagues, a piece of technology is invented that could change the entire way you look at social networking micro-blogging service Twitter. Researchers at New York University's interactive telecommunications program have come up with a device that allows plants to tell owners when they need water or if they've had too much via Twitter. Read more.

-posted by Andrew

In 1999, CBS took a huge gamble that some would argue is paying off. They payed $6 billion for the exclusive rights to the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament for 11 years.

As my old news director used to like to point out (by point out, I mean write numerous memos) these exclusive rights also prohibited anyone excluding CBS, its affiliates and its partners from even mentioning the term "March Madness." Well... that hasn't necessarily been that enforceable, but what has stuck is millions of people tuning in to watch the tournament either on TV or the Internet.

Internet viewing has skyrocketed since CBS launched MMOD (March Madness On Demand) back in 2006. In fact, Last year 4.8 million unique visitors used the service, a 164 percent increase over 2007. Advertising revenue reached $30 million this year, a 30 percent increase over last year. However, those numbers pale in comparison to the ad revenue generated by the TV games at $643 million from advertisements last year, and expecting a similar take this year.

Now the New York Times is speculating that the growth of online video may actually be problematic for CBS. True, it owns the Internet rights to the tournament and if the company can make extra money from online video while keeping its TV revenue steady, its not-very-lucrative rights contract could still turn into a moneymaker. But online revenue could come at the expense of eroding tournament revenue for the company’s cash cow, its television business. Last year, the tournament averaged 10 percent fewer viewers than in 2004, according to Nielsen. That drop in viewership could ultimately hurt its TV ad sales.

And you thought the action was just on the court. March Madness...



-posted by Andrew

Ever ate lunch at your desk, hunched over your keyboard thinking, "this keyboard is probably absolutely disgusting." Like the commercial goes, "I've been there." Now Seattle area startup Vioguard LLC is touting a way to clean keyboards without any manual labor. After use the Vioguard keyboard automatically retracts into an enclosed monitor stand to be bathed in germicidal ultraviolet light that supposedly gives the keyboard a good germ scrub-down.




From the pictures I've seen, the keyboard resembles a very "old school" type flat keyboard with a large encasing, but this isn't an aesthetic play, but very practical since it needs to be designed to roll into the hardware casing that bathes the hardware in the ultraviolet light. Vioguard hasn’t finalized pricing, but it’s anticipating an initial range between $499 and $599 per keyboard and plans on targeting the healthcare industry at first. However, the company expects the price to decline and that its will target more vertical markets over time.

Want to read more on how ultraviolet light kills germs and see a video demo? Check out TechFlash's blog entry.

-posted by Andrew

Roman Catholic bishops across Italy are urging people to go on a high-tech fast for Lent this year. Separate Dioceses and Catholic groups across the country are appealing to their faithful to abstain from everything from driving to using their iPods, text messaging or surfing the Web.

For example -- Dioceses and Catholic groups in Modena, southern Bari and other cities have called for a ban on text messaging every Friday in Lent, which began last week. The Modena diocese claims giving up texts is a small way to remember the importance of concrete and not virtual relationships.

Separately the Turin diocese has created a "new lifestyles" calendar with proposals for each week of lent which includes not watching TV, leaving cars at home and enjoying the silence of a week with the Internet or iPods.

However, this technology "abstinence" doesn't sit well with everyone. Rev. Giancarlo Angelo Andreis, a priest at a Roma basilica says. "What does giving up mean? If the use is capricious, then abstinence is welcome, but if technology is needed for work it makes no sense."

My take (despite me not being a Catholic), do it if you can and if you feel like it really is a sacrifice. It will make you look at the world an entirely new way.

-posted by Andrew

VOXUS’ star intern, Julie Olds, wrote this blog. Julie is currently finishing up her undergraduate education at Tacoma's Pacific Lutheran University and is exploring a field in communications. Below is her experience for a job interview in the public sector. Quite a whirlwind process our Julie had!
 

You may have heard of speed dating, but have you experienced speed interviewing? In my most recent job interview, I tried out this new and exciting approach to interviewing. The speed interview had a similar format to speed dating, requiring me to jump from seat to seat to interview. Going into the interview process, I knew it would be competitive. There were nearly 600 applicants bidding for just one position, but the last thing I was expecting was to interview alongside three other people. The completion was on, but instead of finding my soul mate in a five-minute session, I was trying to sell myself to four different faces as I moved around the room at the sound of each bell. I couldn’t help but think of how it reminded me of musical chairs from elementary school. I can understand the benefits of this new technique for the hiring staff. They are searching for just the right person and are hesitant to make such severe cuts to a large number of applicants (the initial number of applicants for this job started at about 500). Speed interviewing allowed them to interview what they deemed 40 viable candidates and narrow down their search to a qualified few. In the sea of faces the hiring staff saw today, I can’t help but wonder how memorable my face or my responses were in our brief encounter. At the very least, this interview opened my eyes to an emerging technique in interviewing. Not to mention that I had fun during the process. So the next time I practice for job interviews, I’ll be preparing myself for some speedy encounters.

-posted by Andrew (and Julie)

For better or for worse, Bellingham, Washington Tatango has launched a new website that chronicles in real time via four video cameras every facet of the startups day 24/7. Here's what Derek Johnson, Tatango's 20-something year-old CEO says about the startup turned real world show; "So why broadcast everything 24/7 and let the whole world watch us? Why the hell not! If people want to watch us, let them watch us. I think we have a pretty cool story to tell with our startup, and what better way to tell that story then to watch it play out in real time, live over the internet." TechFlash recently wrote about Tatango TV and says the vice president of marketing Andrew Dumont told them the idea is not so much about live content as it is about embracing transparency for people like investors. This whole idea seems earily reminiscent of Seattle startup, Earth Class Mail's reality TV show Start-Up Junkies on Mojo TV.

Oh... and for background Tatango is a mobile messaging startup although I did notice ads in all of their streaming video which I'm assuming they're utilizing to subsidize the cost for creating and maintaining the video site.

When I logged on at about 1pm Pacific, I found a team of hungry startup employees munching on a bunch of greasy pizza. Not judging, just reporting.

My thought, expand on the 24/7 idea with separate daily "video confessionals" from various employees on what occurs at the company on a daily basis.

Would love to hear what you think.

-posted by Andrew

It's a thought that's crossed my mind once or twice during my daily commute from Seattle to Tacoma, but now I have some actual proof that the down economy is contributing to driving down traffic in the Seattle Metro Area. Kirkland, Washington-based Inrix claims the Seattle area saw a 28 percent drop in traffic congestion over the last year ranking 9th in the country overall. The report also says the United States as a whole saw a traffic decrease in 2008 from 2007 and blames two factors -- fuel price volatility and rising unemployment. On average, Inrix found Americans spent 13 fewer hours struck in traffic last year. And get this, Inrix claims Detroit say a whopping nearly 47 percent drop in traffic congestion last year alone!

Inrix made the findings based on GPS-enabled vehicles, road sensors and other methods to gather traffic information on the nation's roadways. The company spun out of Microsoft Research and claims to be the "leading innovator of real-time, historical and predictive traffic information, offering the broadest coverage, exceptional accuracy and innovative technologies to ensure the success of our customers’ navigation and traffic-enabled solutions."

Before we all jump up and collectively do the no traffic dance, a point to consider as pointed out by Inrix's CEO Bryan Mistele, "While less traffic is generally good news, the causes of it aren't necessarily something to celebrate. Traffic congestion is an excellent indicator of trends, telling us whether businesses are shipping products, whether people are going to work, and whether shoppers are going to the mall."

Downer or not, I'm enjoying smooth sailing for the time being.



-posted by Andrew

YouNoodle just released its list of the "healthiest startups" for the whole world to see -- otherwise known as YouNoodle Scores. Itself a startup, YouNoodle created the scoring system that rates startups on their "impact and importance", based in part on the number of news stories, blog posts and comments about a company that are posted on the Web at any given time. The score is on a scale of 0 to 100 with 100 being the highest and is continually updated and driven by data garnered from partners including CrunchBase and AngelSoft -- along with data from YouNoodle's own community.

You may remember YouNoodle from last year when it launched its Startup Predictor. The predictor uses an algorithm that crunches startup data to determine the potential success or failure of a company.

Back to YouNoodle Scores, Tech Crunch's John Cook recently took it for a test drive and found Seattle companies apparently aren't much to take notice of. Here's a sampling of how some other "top" startups are faring:

   * Facebook: 98
   * LinkedIn: 96
   * Hulu: 96
   * Etsy: 92
   * Twitter: 91
   * Yelp: 88
   * OpenDNS: 87
   * Mahalo: 83
   * Kayak: 80
   * Blip.tv: 79


Interesting concept but not sure how the numbers really stack up. Is YouNoodle using its noodle?



-posted by Andrew

Ever wonder whether online friends get to make a connection in the real world? Well, Twitter users did last night in cities around the world. The event's called Twestival and  I attended the Seattle Twestival in they city's Belltown neighborhood.

Some background, Twestival gets its name from Twitter, the social networking site which enables people to connect and communicate with others through micro-blogging (140 characters or less). Twestival was the brainchild of a group of London "Twitters" who met up in September for drinks and to raise money for a local soup kitchen. The turnout was huge, so they decided to organize another version on a larger scale. In January, they released their idea into the Twitter-verse and within a week, they claimed to have people willing to organize events in more than 100 cities. 

According to Twestival's organizing body, about 185 cities worldwide planned to Celebrate Twitter last night and raise funds for Charity:water, a non-profit dedicated to ensuring people in developing countries have access to clean water. All proceeds from the events worldwide were supposed to go to Charity:water and the goal was to raise $1 million (no word yet if that was accomplished). Words couldn't quite grasp the worldliness of the events, so Seattle 2.0 streamed live video from Seattle and Live Earth helped stream video from Twestivals across the world.

Twestival was a great way to get face-to-face with people you might not ordinarily meet up with. Not only was it a great social event, but these gatherings are extra special because they're meant to generate interest/money for great causes. Get ready for more Twestivals, Facebook Meetups, etc... The times they are a changing, but no matter what face-to-face gatherings are still here to stay.



-posted by Andrew

What to do? You've got a flight the evening of Super Bowl Sunday. As luck would have it, I was that person boarding my flight during the 4th quarter of last Sunday's epic Super Bowl XLIII battle between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Arizona Cardinals.

With all of the back and forth, one can only call friends and family so many times for updates. So, what did I do you ask? I turned to my Windows Mobile Phone and ESPN's mobile web sports page. The live scoreboard for the Super Bowl refreshes every 15 seconds which means you're getting almost instantaneous updates. My colleague Lindsay Stril blogged about Sprint recently offering a similar service along with past Super Bowl video highlights. However, exactly what was transpiring was up to my imagination. That's because as far as I can tell, there's no service that actually offered up live video of Super Bowl XLIII. How 1999 is that? With advertisers shelling out nearly $3 million for a 30-second TV ad, you've got to think there's some financial incentive to offer up live video of one of, if not the biggest sporting event in the world.

Are you ready for some football on your mobile phone? I am.

-posted by Andrew

This story reminds me of the late great John Candy's last movie, Canadian Bacon.

After my colleague, Stephanie Martin, blogged about President Obama's refusal to give up his Blackberry, I found a little nugget to follow up on that story. This week, The Wall Street Journal reports that Microsoft's Randy Siegel, who oversees the company's mobility strategy and relationship with the U.S. Federal Government, questions President O'Bama's use of a Blackberry.  Keep in mind that the company behind the Blackberry device and network, Research in Motion or RIM, is based in Canada. Siegel is quoted as saying “You would be sending your data outside the country. We wouldn’t want the casual musings or official communications of the most important person in the world being intercepted by others.” Siegel argues that a better alternative would be a National Security Agency-approved device, such as the Sectéra Edge. Made by defense contractor General Dynamics and powered by Microsoft’s Windows CE software, the Edge is 12 ounces and costs about $3,350.

Whether it's good or bad publicity, Microsoft has certainly brought some attention to the company surrounding President Obama's first day in office. To Blackberry or not... you make the call.

-posted by Andrew

On this day, January 22 1984, Apple launched the Macintosh personal computer with it's now infamous 1984 Super Bowl advertisement. According to Nielsen Media Research, the ad reached a whopping 46.9 percent of all American households although it did air during the 3rd quarter of a blowout between the Washington Redskins and then Los Angeles Raiders (read between the lines, some people might be concentrating on the dip or taking a siesta at this point). Some more interesting facts, Ridley Scott directed the commercial and then little known ad agency Chiat/Day produced it at a then unheard of enormous budget of $900k. Microsoft's board originally didn't want to air the ad, but eventually gave in. As a refresher, the ad is a take on George Orwell's book "1984" in which Big Brother takes over and is shown on a huge television screen. In the ad, a heroine comes to the rescue and throws a sledgehammer through the TV screen meant to show how Apple will shatter conformity in support of individualism. The commercial concludes with text which reads: "On January 24th, Apple Computer will introduce Macintosh. And you'll see why 1984 won't be like 1984." 25 years later, do you think Apple has followed through on their original promise?

-posted by Andrew

In my constant hunt for the latest tiny high-tech devices, I just came across one that was on display at CES recently. It's Nokia's BH-804 bluetooth headset and it fits in the palm of your hand at an estimated 1.6-1.7 inches long. The Street has a pretty good video demo of the device. Nokia says it's available broadly in the U.S. in Q1 of '09 for $99-$119.

Ben Stiller's character from Zoolander (yes, I'm referencing one of my favorite movies AGAIN) would be proud!



-posted by Andrew

I couldn't resist posting this short blog entry, but boy is this cool. I'm a self proclaimed neat freak and there were some neat TVs unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES). Neat in the fact that 1) They're really cool and 2) They don't take up much space. Panasonic showed off a prototype set that was 8.8 millimeters thick and Samsung gave a glimpse at a TV that measured in at 6.5 millimeters. Forget about what I write though, take a look for yourself at a Washington Post article and Seattle Times blog from our friend Brier Dudley.

Thin is in!

-posted by Andrew

As the minutes tick down for the baton to be passed at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, I can’t help but let my mind wander to a time when Gates was king. This year, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer will keynote CES after years of Microsoft’s Chairman Bill Gates assuming those responsibilities.

Gates was known for his list of celebrity guests which included Slash of Guns N’ Roses, Jay Leno, Conan O’Brien, The Rock and more. TechFlash has a great retrospective on these star-studded events.

Having been privy to take part in one such keynote at CES 2007 when doing PR work for Microsoft, I learned first-hand how Gates’ keynotes resembled more of a rock concert than a meeting of some of the world’s greatest minds. It’s that buzz that led to Gates’ selection year after year and now to Ballmer’s succession.

This year, Ballmer takes the stage. While he seems to garner a lot of attention himself through antics like his now infamous monkey boy video, something tells me he’s not going to steal the limelight quite like Gates.

-posted by Andrew

I Want an iCar
 
With all of the talk surrounding the big 3 automaker bailout, some media outlets like ZDNet, CNET, TechNewsWorld and the New York Times are suggesting Steve Jobs take the helm at GM or be appointed the feds new “car czar”. Some of the reasoning for the GM top spot, Jobs would cut out the corporate fat, speed up innovation (and actually innovate at that) and market products correctly.
 
I love some of the comments from readers on possible Jobs GM cars:
 
·               Acceleration and braking would be handled with a single pedal
·               It would drive slower in Redmond than it would in Cupertino
·               You’d have a choice of: brushed aluminum
·               Steering would be done via touch screen.
·               You could only use Apple brand gasoline from Apple brand gas stations.
 
Who’s ready for an iCar? I am!

-posted by Andrew

Earlier this week, I had the opportunity to meet with one of the really “out-of-the-box” thinkers in the PR industry, Peter Shankman. He held a happy hour at the Pike Pub and Brewery, located just above Seattle’s Pike Place Market, schmoozing with Seattle PR types.

For those of you who don’t know Peter, he is probably best known for publishing the HARO (Help A Reporter Out) Newsletter three times a day, Monday through Friday. HARO includes dozens of leads for PR/media opportunities from travel to technology, business/finance to health/fitness. With all of the modern day “smoke and mirrors”-type PR, Peter’s approach is quite simple and refreshing… connect reporters and public relations professionals in order to come up with the most compelling stories. I think of the HARO Newsletter somewhat like CraigsList early on -- no adds, just a way to connect people in the most basic way possible.

Now to our happy hour meeting, Peter struck me as extremely humble and RESTED even though his speaking engagements typically take him back and forth across the country at least a few times each week. Despite having a number of people trying to schmooze with him, Peter took the time to briefly discuss his personal and professional life with me and gave me one of his unique business cards that front as a gambling chip (blog to be updated with picture soon). Little known fact, Peter continued to run marathons for years despite having a foot that was broken in numerous spots (unbenounced to him).

Pike Market, Peter Shankman and Public Relations… what an enlightening happy hour.

-posted by Andrew

Nokia, the world’s number one mobile phone maker, recently announced it would begin selling a touch-screen phone that offers free music downloads.

The phone comes with Nokia’s new ‘Comes with Music’ bundle which has signed up all the major record labels (Universal, Sony, Warner Music Group, and EMI) and even many of the independent labels and is said to offer about five million tracks. Nokia’s music will differ from others on the market since you’ll be able to download tracks for free (data and airtime not included… so this could add up).



The phone is called the Nokia 5800 xpressMusic handset. The phone’s 8 GB internal memory can be beefed up with another 16 GB on a micro SD type memory card - which means you can store over 18,000 songs. The company claims it’s able to offer the tracks at no cost because it bundles the cost into what you pay for the phone (an estimated $395). The first such phone offered will be available in the UK, the world’s third-largest music market, on October 16.

No word yet if/when the phone will be offered in the U.S. However, the launch has created a media buzz both favorable and unfavorable. Gizmodo's also got a hold of Nokia's canned video for the 5800. Is this going to be the iPhone killer? You make the call.



-posted by Andrew

Microsoft unveiled a controversial focus group study last week that involved its now year and a half old Windows Vista operating system. The company recently set up a blind study involving a video demonstration of what they were told was the forthcoming “Mojave” operating system. However, the subjects of the study never actually got to demo Mojave AND were actually watching a disguised demo of Windows Vista but were never told this until after the video. Microsoft says it conducted the Mojave experiment over three days in San Francisco before 120 subjects. The company says the subjects, on average, gave Vista a rating of 4.4 out of 10 prior to participating. The average rating jumped to 8.5 after the subjects watched the demo, according to the company. Some journalists claim Microsoft is trying to insinuate there is a big disconnect between the actual performance of Windows Vista and the PERCEIVED performance based on negative media coverage and ads by mainly Apple.

I was part of the general launch of Windows Vista for Microsoft, so I’m glad I could get a peak into their re-launch of Windows Vista.

-posted by Andrew

I am one of those sorry saps who drives a lot. I haven’t always been this way, but since joining VOXUS, I have an almost 100 mile round-trip commute. With the recent spike in gas prices, I constantly find myself shopping around to find the lowest local gas prices on TacomaGasPrices.com. It’s a listing of supposedly the bottom of the barrel gas prices in the Tacoma, WA metro area and I’ve found it works well. The site is an arm of GasBuddy.com. The company is a network of gas price listings sites for various areas and claims it is a grass-roots community effort to lower gas prices. It works by having members post prices in their area to the site.

I just signed up to be a resident reporter/member. The site claims a fringe benefit for members is they are entered into a number of raffles based on the number of points they accumulate (mainly through price postings). The site says these raffles include $250 gas cards.

I’ll let everyone know if I’m pumped up about member perks soon.

-posted by Andrew

Seems there are a few gaming geeks roaming the halls of VOXUS. I’ve got news for you all, those of us who use gaming consoles for something other than playing video games have got some good news. Microsoft and Netflix have unveiled a partnership under which Netflix will stream movies directly to you through Microsoft's Internet-based Xbox Live service. Under the deal, customers who have an Xbox 360 console attached to their TVs and who subscribe to Microsoft's Xbox Live Gold service (cost $50/year), and who are also Netflix subscribers, can download Netflix movies at no additional cost. In addition to Netflix, NBC will be adding TV content to the Xbox Live Marketplace and Universal will be contributing movies. I’ve got a secret for you all… I rarely (if ever) use the Xbox for gaming. It’s my media hub to stream pictures and music from my desktop.

Gaming geeks be gone.

-posted by Andrew

I was fortunate enough to recently represent the Authentication and Online Alliance (AOTA) at their annual summit. This year, Craig Newmark, the founder of Craigslist, Michael Barrett, the Chief Security Officer for PayPal, Tim Callan, Vice President of Product Marketing at VeriSign, Peter Cullen, General Manager and Chief Privacy Strategist at Microsoft, Howard Schmidt, the former White House Cyber Security Officer, Rob McKenna, the Washington State Attorney General, and Hemanshu Nigram, Chief Security Officer of MySpace, among others, all spoke at the Summit. You can take a look at the presentations by clicking here.



(Picture of Craig Newmark, Craigslist and David Daniels, Jupiter Research, on stage at the AOTA Summit)

The summit was a two-day event full of lively discussions on how and why we should make online experiences as safe and secure as possible. Key takeaways from the event; there’s no silver bullet to making the Internet a safer place and it takes more than just technology to ensure online safety and security… it takes people power. Seems I wasn’t the only person paying attention to the summit. With at least 25 unique media stories… you may have heard of it outside of the VOXUS blog. Check out some of the links:

· USA Today (http://blogs.usatoday.com/technologylive/)

· Seattle PI (http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/365598_cybersecurity04.html)

· Seattle Times (http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2004458445_brier05.html)

· NPR (http://publicbroadcasting.net/kplu/news/content/1294129.html)

· KIRO-AM (http://www.mynorthwest.com/?sid=61414&nid=11)

· Computerworld (http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&taxonomyName=web_site_management&articleId=9093719&taxonomyId=62&intsrc=kc_top)

· Network World (http://www.networkworld.com/news/2008/060508-more-laws-collaboration-required-for.html)

· eMarketing and Commerce (http://www.emarketingandcommerce.com/blog/just-when-you-thought-you-were-safe)

· DMNews (http://directline.dmnewsblogs.com/2008/06/04/aota-focuses-on-trust-on-heels-of-eec-trust-breach/)




(Poster of Craig Spiezle, AOTA Chairman and Founder)

-posted by Andrew

It takes more than just words to tell a story and VOXUS friend Bellamy Pailthorp, at Seattle NPR affiliate KPLU, has brought a certain event to my attention. Bellamy and a number of other prominent journalists will be taking part in the annual Bellingham Visual Journalism Conference July 18-20 at Western Washington University in Bellingham, WA. If you’re up for learning about and discussing visual journalism in a beautiful setting, you should check it out.

-posted by Andrew

I have some friends who are addicted to keeping tabs on stars like I’m addicted to watching the weather on the local news (yes, I’m a geek). So, it’s no surprise to me that a Web site recently launched showing what celebrities are wearing and even goes so far to show how you can get your hands on those products. For example below, you can see Paris Hilton spotted wearing Ray-Ban Wayfarer sunglasses. The site’s called Coolspotters. You can read their launch press release here. It looks like the way they’ll make money is through click-throughs of basic advertising from the products the trendsetters are wearing on the site or related advertising. The company is an arm of Fantzer, Inc. which is funded by Seattle VC firms Second Avenue Partners and Curious Office Partners. A couple thoughts that I have with this… will the celebs now demand they get endorsements dollars for literally everything they wear and are we really that materialistic?

-posted by Andrew

In what could be a major milestone for gene therapy, for the first time, researchers have used gene therapy to improve vision in blind patients.

Homegrown (for VOXUS) Seattle’s Targeted Genetics conducted part of the study of six patients with an extremely rare form of blindness called Leber's Congenital Amaurosis. According to the study which appears in the New England Journal of Medicine, four of the six people who received gene therapy had some vision restored. If this test is successful on a larger scale, researchers say it could help people with more common types of blindness. Macular degeneration, the leading cause of blindness for those under 20 years old in the United States, affects 1.25 million Americans; the number is expected to grow to 3 million by 2020 as the population continues to age.

Gene therapy involves replacing defective genes with normal versions. The research marks a major milestone for gene therapy, a discipline many scientists find promising but so far has failed to produce a marketable product in the U.S.

-posted by Andrew

For the second time in the last month, a Google executive has jumped ship for Facebook. Ethan Beard, the former director of social media at Google, will join the privately held company as director of business development.  Some speculate the move to infiltrate Google's ranks is a direct result of the social-networking company trying to provide some senior support to its 23-year-old CEO, Mark Zuckerberg.  They say the momentum started to shift from Google to Facebook much like it moved from Microsoft to Google about a year ago.  That's when ex-Googler and current Facebooker Justin Rosenstein wrote a public email declaring the social network (Facebook) was "the Google of yesterday, the Microsoft of long ago.  That company where large numbers of stunningly brilliant people congregate and feed off each other's genius."

Will people begin saying ‚ "Google is so last year"?

-posted by Andrew

Red Herring recently reported that Modu, the Israeli startup that the Guinness Book Of World Records claims has developed the lightest cellphone at 1.41 ounces, has raised $100 million in venture funding.  Not bad for a company that launched its phone at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona earlier this year.  The company was founded just a year ago by Dov Moran the founder, chairman and ceo of M-Systems, which invented the USB Flash Drive.  Modu claims its phone can be slipped into a wide variety of Modu jackets and transformed into different electronic devices, from a phone to a digital camera to a music player.



Check out the picture of the phone.  It may remind you of the phone from one of my all-time favorite movies Zoolander.



-posted by Andrew

The other week, I had the privilege of attending the Puget Sound Chapter of The American Marketing Association's monthly luncheon featuring Tillamook Cheese.  For those of you not from the Northwest, Tillamook is one of the iconic brands of the region.  That's right... Microsoft, Boeing, Nordstrom and Tillamook Cheese.

Tillamook's roots in the region span all the way back to 1894 and it has always operated as a farmer owned cooperative.  Jay Allison, Tillamook's Marketing VP, talked about the company's iconic brand, its strategic packaging which includes its recognizable Tillamook repetition on the label and much more.  To summarize... Tillamook's cheese tastes great but its iconic image and highly strategic sales plan may have more to do with its success.

My favorite piece of trivia from the speech... there are more cows than people in Oregon's Tillamook County.  Maybe happy cows come from Oregon and not California?

-posted by Andrew

It's well-documented by print journalists of the death of traditional radio stations.  While radio listening by the traditional mediums of a car stereo or portable radio may be dropping, listening to original stories from those organizations by other mediums (i.e... the internet) are not. 

For example, my client, Dipiti, was just featured on a local Seattle AM radio station called 710 KIRO.  The story (give a listen below) was part of Jason Brooks' CEO Spotlight and not only aired on the radio, but also on their website.  While most people I know didn't hear the story during their morning drive, they did hear it on KIRO's website.

My take on this whole death of traditional media; the way you'll get your news will change, the need for content will not.

Podcast

-posted by Andrew

Used to be going green was associated with either 1) hippies 2) Kermit the Frog.  Not anymore.  Now awards about going green (i.e... environmentally friendly) are as mainstream as "best dressed" or "most likely to succeed."  Case in point, Washington CEO Magazine, that's best known for its "Best Companies To Work For" Awards.  Now the magazine is launching its first ever "Green Washington" Awards.  Submissions are due by March 21st and the magazine says the awards "will recognize companies and organizations whose initiatives and actions shape, educate and provide a catalyst for environmental sustainability -- clean technology, recycling, carbon footprints, and more -- in Washington state."

Apparently, it's easy (and cool) being green these days.

-posted by Andrew

This week, my client Dipiti publicly launched its service.   Dipiti is a human-filtered search service that connects consumers with the online community content (forums and message boards). What separates this company from other human-filtered search services is its emphasis on life matters (health, pets, legal and money) along with its exclusive search of forums  and message boards (tracking about 29 million active conversations).  I think of Dipiti as essentially the company that puts "the human" into the Internet.

I really dig this service because it not only addresses my favorite segment of the population (pets), but really does personalize the Internet in a way not many sites can from its human-filtered searches, to its canvassing of forums and message boards to its life matters. 

It's not just me that's hot on Dipiti, check out what the Seattle Times and Seattle PI  are saying.  You can see what you think but I give it two paws up:)

-posted by Andrew

Mobile Phones Take Center Stage

I had the privilege last year to attend 3 GSM (now the Mobile World Congress) in Barcelona.  Despite the crazy hours, I was able to soak in a show with all of the glitz and glamour of a Hollywood premiere.  Only, the stars of this show are the latest and greatest cell phones and all of the cool applications that support them.



This year, I didn't head out to Barcelona (even though we had a number of clients who did).  So... I've been reading up on the show-stoppers there this year.  Seems the hint of a global recession has put a damper on the show despite the record number of attendees.  Regardless of the atmosphere, there's been a ton of hardware unveiled including Sony's first-time venture with Windows Mobile and the coming out for Google's Android, a free mobile  platform.

If you want to read up on this year's happenings, The Industry Standard put together a nice summary article.

Missing Barcelona and the tapas...

-posted by Andrew

Last month, I had the pleasure of being among 500 people checking out Google’s new Seattle digs. The new Seattle office is in the Fremont neighborhood which is best known for being the “center of the universe.” It’s very fitting that the company known for its shall you say, “creative” work environment has landed itself in this very eccentric part of this very eccentric city.

From charactertures to massages to free booze to gourmet cupcakes topped off with Google’s Seattle logo, I had no problem flying solo and filling my time. A big shout out goes to my neighbor Melissa for leading my tour of the office. She just so happens to work in HR at Google.



So… here’s my big takeaway from my visit… while the work environment is very different from your run of the mill office… I wonder how long Google can retain its character before turning into yet another “churn and burn” large high-tech company (if you live in the Seattle area, you may know who I’m referring to). I’ll be closely monitoring the Googleites along the Fremont cut but until then, keep the cupcakes coming!




-posted by Andrew

This week, Fred R. Shapiro, editor of the Yale Book of Quotations, came out with his top 10 quotes for 2007.

Number 1 on the list wasn’t George Bush, Britney Spears or even a little known scholar… rather a senior at the University of Florida. His quote now heard around the world was “Don’t Tase Me Bro” while being hauled away by campus police during a speech by Senator John Kerry.

Two things struck me with this quote… the first was the use of the word “bro”. No way would anyone have cared about this quote unless the student hadn’t used the word “bro”. The second… how a little known person became so famous. In this age of information where a couple words can make you instantly known around the world thanks to the web and YouTube, this student has a claim to fame that should be reserved for heads of state and such.

Keep in mind… this is the most quoted person of 2007… ahead of such outspoken people like Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. Makes you wonder who'll be the most quoted person of 2008…

-posted by Andrew

So I just started working at Voxus and have the unenviable or enviable task (depending on how you look at it) of migrating from a PC to a Mac.



Let me just preface with the fact that prior to Voxus, I worked for one of Microsoft’s PR agencies and in fact was in New York City for the launch of Windows Vista. I’ve got everyone breathing down my neck saying, “what do you think about the Mac?” From a mom in education whose worked on a Mac for years to a dad in high tech that’s lived with a PC for years. As for me… we had a Mac in our house when I was really young, but like the rest of the world migrated to a PC in the early 90’s. In absolute delight that her son is becoming a Mac user, my mom has sent me article after article explaining why a Mac is so much better than a PC. Having lived in the San Francisco Bay Area and Seattle most of my life, I’ve heard it all… “Microsoft is big brother”, “Microsoft gives you so many more options”, “Apples are for creative types”, “Windows makes it easier to do what you want, when you want”, blah blah blah.

Honestly… after a few days… I can’t tell much of a difference. Sure, an apple is “cooler looking” with their super-sleekness and all. But when it comes down to it for us business types I just need a computer that turns on, allows me to use Word, Excel and Power Point, has an email application and lets me surf the net. My point is, and this is quite anti-climatic, it’s all about preference. I’ll keep you posted on how my experience is down the road, but until then…

“Hello, I’m a Mac user and I’m a PC user”.

-posted by Andrew