It's a phrase that's been used around the office quite a bit over the years as technology has gotten more and more advanced & crept into our daily lives. With the official announcement of Apple's 3rd generation iPhone looming, speculation of its improvements has been rampant on various blogs & chat rooms. In addition to some cosmetic modifications, one that seems universal is a real GPS navigation feature. It kind of seems a bit like a no brainer since the technology seems to be fairly common these days.

Although I will have to admit, the current quasi-GPS isn't bad. On a recent trip, I found it hugely helpful in finding my way around & getting me pointed in the right direction. It may not have pinpointed my exact location, but once I found a cross street or two, I had no problems. Plus it kept me from carrying the massive map that just screams tourist - ok, I like to blend in & feel like a local.

But to me, the most exciting speculative new feature is an improved camera for video calling. Seriously, video calling. I remember watching all of those great 1980's SciFi tv shows as a kid that all spawned from the popularity of Star Wars & ALL of them had video phones of some sort. If rumors are true, in a few months we'll all be walking around having video calls with our handheld comm devices. Can the flying bubble cars and Gary Coleman inspired butler robots really be that far behind?

Yesterday, I was catching up on some cable TV viewing and noticed a confusing spot on Food Network. It addressed the broadcast switch to digital in February of 2009 and encouraged viewers who are still watching television through rabbit ears to contact Insight Communications for more information on getting all of the channels after the complete switch to digital next year.

Here's what's confusing to me - the spot ran on cable. So, if you are watching using rabbit ears, you would never see the spot. Why is that spot running on cable? Did someone PAY to run that spot on cable? Or did it run as a PSA? Either way, why is that air time being wasted? I feel sure there are plenty of other deserving and more appropriate PSAs that could be run in this time.

Wow, what a blast! Blast of wind that is. 120 mph and one of the most fun sports I have ever tried. Of course we weren't jumping out of an actual plane. We were floating in a very controlled environment called a vertical wind tunnel and we had our "flight instructor" right there with us, adjusting our form and helping us maneuver right to left and up and down.

The folks we were with are "jump master" level skydivers and they say it mimics the sensation pretty well. The tunnel allows folks like me to try it out in a fairly safe environment. I would want to practice quite a bit more before I ever jumped for real.

And I am not sure I would ever get up the nerve. There are so many variables and things to remember. I might try a tandem jump sometime. And I definitely want to go back and indoor skydive again. Check it out!

In 2006, a video startup made a startling announcement that sent shockwaves through the professional video world: the production of a camera that would capture images at a 4k resolution direct to hard disk or flash based memory cards, with the ability to use prime cinematographic lenses, for only $17,000. The Red camera was heralded as a game-changer for professional video, and production companies around the world plunked down a $1,000 deposit for the mythical camera. Red involved themselves in several online forums, and involved their customers in the design of the camera, further promoting brand loyalty before they ever had a product.

In 2007, Red released the first 25 Red One cameras to great hype. 4,000 cameras have been ordered and Red has already announced their next product line, a 3k handheld camera called the Scarlet, and a 5k camera called the Epic.

So what does this all mean? In short, the U.S. standardization body (the National Television System Committee) decided in the 1940s on a video standard that called for a video picture that was drawn with 525 lines 30 times a second. For more than 50 years, that was what video was. In the early 1980's, an international body developed a standard for High Definition video that called for a video picture to be drawn with 1080 lines 30 times a second. 20 years later, technology finally caught up with these goals and HD video became prevalent.

In digital terms, Standard definition images are 720 pixels wide by 480 pixels high, while HD video varies between 1280x720 pixels to 1920x1080 pixels depending on which mode you are shooting in. The Red One captures images at up to 4k - 4096x2304, more than twice the resolution of the highest HD standard - for only $17,000 (minus the lenses). This means you can shoot 35mm quality video at a fraction of the price. So why isn't this splashed all across the news and why aren't agencies bursting to deliver the highest quality video for their clients?

Because for many, these cameras are still vaporware. To date, Red has shipped, maybe, 2,000 units. It's not uncommon to find posts online from disgruntled customers who were given a ship date, paid in full, and then told that their camera was on hold indefinitely. Apparently, Red is incapable of keeping up with the demand. Adding insult to injury, they are already trumpeting their next line of cameras while they still can't fulfill the orders of their current line.

There are those that suggest that Red used the reservations for R&D money, rather than having to give up a portion of the company to a VC firm for startup funds. Still others suggest a kind of corporate shell game, where one is enticed to order the Red One, then encouraged to upgrade to the Epic before ever getting one's hands on the first camera. While the first statement may be true, I think what we have here is the beginnings of another video revolution, mirroring what has happened over the last 10 years in the storage market. these cameras are real and are shipping.

And the game is starting to change. Already companies are working hard to compete with Red on price and quality. Although, there are some problems associated with the Red One, once this company matures, they, along with Apple's Final Cut Pro, will have forced the high end video market downstream, giving the little fishes a chance at the big time. The real test will come when the Scarlet is released. A 3k video pocket professional camera for under $3,000 with no reservations will blow the prosumer market wide open, and all these premium HD camcorders will start collecting dust.

Flowers.  Of course I love flowers.
I love the soil more.
I want to roll in it.
Bury my nose in it.
Dig in it.
Dig, dig, dig.

They're all over MY Courtyard.
Pots brimming with soil.
Begging me to rearrange them.

I finally did.
I tried to hide the evidence.
They knew.
They fussed.
I cowered.
Gave them the puppy eyes,
They melted.
I got a pass.

OK, so I went on my social networking safari and thank goodness I didn't adopt someone else's opinion as my own. I chose to join only the social networks from "Top 10 Most Beautiful Social Networks" that suited me.

I joined Pownce, Beautiful Society and Virb; all the while still a member of MySpace and Facebook. So I joined, signed on and got to searching.

Pownce was my first victim. This so-called "beautiful" social network, although neatly organized, doesn't strike me as "pretty." Rather, it's just pretty plain.

The only beauty in Beautiful Society is its name. It's easy to sign-up but the concept falls short at keeping people entertained. The all-forum-style setup of favorites, articles and "stuff" sections are outdated.

Virb was much like MySpace without the hassle of html coding. Like MySpace, you can customize your profile's colors; but that's all you can change. After browsing a bit I came to the conclusion that Virb had the user friendliness and components of Facebook with a MySpace look and feel. Virb is still lacking components that keep Facebook addicts coming back for more.

It's the "Beautiful Mess" state of mind I'm in when I'm on Facebook: scoping out friends, poking, messaging, writing on walls, looking through photos, reading my news feed, playing a game.... And well, you get the point!

Facebook is ever-evolving, keeping its addicts in a constant state of curiosity and interest. Even though it didn't make the Mashable beautiful list, I think it's beautiful- a "Beautiful Mess!" What good is a beautiful and user friendly social network if there are no users to socialize???

What do you do if you own a business that manufactures widgets that nobody wants to buy because a). their perceived quality is not good and b). their basic maintenance has become too expensive to justify? If you're Chrysler, you offer $2.99 a gallon gasoline for three years, guaranteed. That's right. Like a gas bank, your per gallon cost at the pump is frozen for three years at $2.99. Of course, there are caveats. You have to buy a new Chrysler and you have to have a valid Visa or Mastercard.

The way it works is this: they give you a special credit card that is attached to your account. This is your fuel card, recognized at 97% of all gas stations (according to Chrysler). Each year you are allowed to purchase a certain number of gallons of gas (87 octane unleaded gas - the cheap stuff) at $2.99 / gallon. They derive this number by dividing the average number of miles you drive by the average MPG of the car. So, you get 12,000 miles at $2.99 per year, and if you exceed that number, you pay full price. If you want a higher octane, you pay extra, but still not the full price, as long as you haven't bought your share of cheap gas that year.

So you ask yourself, is this a good marketing strategy? On the face of it, it seems so. It certainly is an extension of the U.S. auto manufacturers business strategy for the past 60 years or so: look for the short term gain, make the next quarter profitable. There's been no real long term strategy coming out of Detroit, except that gas is cheap and will always be so. And as a result Chrysler has a lot of inventory that no one wants. But, like a junky coming off a bender, the U.S. car-buying public is waking up to all of our bad choices over the years. We have an economy that is based on consumption and the cost of oil is placing that level of consumption out of reach.

In the short term, this campaign will probably drive the more easily frightened into Chrysler's showrooms. But there are plenty of people who know exactly what kind of mileage they get in their current vehicle, and even the lure of (relatively) cheap gas is not going to sway them from trying to improve that mileage, or get off crude oil altogether. In the long term, Chrysler is just whistling past the graveyard. Deep down in their hearts, even those that decide to bite at this offer will realize that in three years they will end up with a $16,000 lawn ornament that no one will want to take off their hands. A better long-term strategy for consumers is to look into school, car or vanpooling, public transportation, or bicycling. A better strategy for Chrysler is to look beyond the next quarter and start to plan for when the demand for gas starts to exceed the supply. Which actually means planning for today.

I don't know about you, but there are few things I love more than a good old-fashioned clash of cultures. And the culture I find myself most fascinated with/confused by is Japanese pop culture. I don't really understand Hello Kitty or PokeMon, Anime cartoons confuse me and Japanese horror movies give me nightmares. (I'm not proud.) But what I love most is the appropriation of our western culture by the Japanese, often with hilarious results.

Take for example celebrity endorsements. In the age of instant access and unlimited information, most celebrities go to great lengths to protect their image. They hire consultants and spin-doctors. They train their bodies rigorously and diet religiously. But one image concession even the biggest stars in Hollywood are willing to make is the big money grab of overseas commercials. Stars who would never consider "selling out" by doing strange commercials where they look ridiculous, (at least by Western standards) have been throwing caution into the wind for years and selling everything from cosmetics and alcohol to fizzy drinks and yogurt. Most involve a celebrity standing around looking beautiful and holding/pointing to/eating/drinking the product. But my favorites are the ones that get lost in the translation. Like watching a pre-Food Network episode of Iron Chef (sub-titles, please, no voiceover) or a black and white Godzilla movie, I often don't know what is going on, but I don't really care. But with my all-time favorite Japanese celebrity shill, I think very little is lost in the translation, mostly because I can't really understand this guy when he is speaking English. That's just bad acting, in any language.

arigato

Every year for the past 4 summers we have instituted Partner Days.
It made sense to me to control those desires that come about when one wakes up and decides today is too beautiful to go to work.
What if we planned for hooky?
What if every other week half the staff had Fridays off?
How would the work get done?

We went with each person having a partner in case something came in and had to be done. It took a lot of persuasion with my own partners. They were skeptical. And rightly so. Our assets are our people. If they are not here, how do create great solutions and meet all the deadlines?

Well, it has been an amazing program. We don't miss a beat. And the folks working at the office on partner Fridays say they get so much done! Our billings remain steady all summer and we have some very happy people. They can plan for short getaways and enjoy this wonderful time of year with family and friends. Or sleep in and get the list of errands run. When I have Fridays off I really feel like I had a weekend. That I turned things off and rested. Because it takes one day to wind down, one to relax and one to wind back up.

If it were up to me we would work a 4 day work week. And with gas prices at $4.00 per gallon, some companies are going to 4 10-hour days, cutting back the 5th day commute.
The challenge becomes having the right people here, on the right day, because we never know when a client will call and want to get together. And we're responsive. And known for our ability to makes things happen quickly. Our service is superior.

Working from home one day per week is another option. Creating a floating day for each person to choose to work from home if they can. Most of our creative staff have systems at home with the same software. Media and Account Service have laptops and internet access to the systems they use daily. Teleconferencing is so easy and GreenYour.com reports from The Business Travel Coalition that, "73 percent of companies have increased the use of video conferencing and other teleconferencing methods." It takes a small amount of money to set this up and most say it is as if the person is actually there in the room. And with GoToMeeting, everyone can see the same presentation and you can even record the meeting to save and review later or share with interested parties. We use this tool with clients out of town or traveling.

I used to think we all had to be on-premise between the hours of 8:30 and 5:00 to be productive. And through the years I have discovered I get more done when I work from home and during the hours that I choose. My most creative moments are very early in the morning when I am up and all is quiet. I am sure it is different for everyone. The "night owls" would probably start work at 7pm. Who cares when? If our creative product remains on target, meets the criteria and gets results. Something to consider as we digitally evolve.

In Kentucky, we Democrats will pledge our allegiance to either Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton on Tuesday.  Personally, I haven't completely made up my mind yet, although I'm about 75% there.  In addition to painting my bathroom this weekend, figuring out what each Presidential candidate is really about is next on my list of things to do.

When deciding who to vote for before the last Presidential primary I relied on information compiled on local websites and news stories to get the facts.  That helped although it wasn't really something I could relate to.

Today, there are so many social networking sites that people are obsessed with, it's possible to connect to your favorite candidate's site and be notified every time they do anything. Social networking is something that people can relate to have come to rely on as a source on information.

Social networking sites have allowed potential voters, especially young voters, to get to know the Barack and Hillary on a more personal level.  Both have profiles on the mainstream sites, such as Facebook and MySpace, however both are expanding beyond those sites to include LinkedIn, Eons and Twitter.

These are great ways to target younger or first-time votes who do not take part in traditional campaign activities, such as attending rallies or reading the newspaper.  Many younger, potential votes spend a significant amount of time on Facebook and MySpace anyway, so why not target them in their own environment?  In Kentucky, there are nearly 250,000 people on Facebook aged 18-65 and 44,400 people aged 13-17.  It's a great, viral way to reach potential voters and even get the attention of people who haven't reached the legal voting age yet.

Given how much of an influence emerging medias have had on society in the past two years, I really wouldn't be surprised if we can text in our votes for the Race for 2010!