DISQUS

The Pre doesn't need to beat the iPhone. They just need it to be a solid device that is competitive. If memory serves me right, Apple was only going for 2% market share when they announced the iPhone. They far exceeded it, but it goes to show you that you don't need 10% market share to be successful in the mobile world.

WILL the Pre beat the iPhone? No. While Palm has a solid community, it's NOTHING like the iClique. Unfortunately, the media and internet communities compare EVERY device to their beloved iPhone now. Create a toaster oven? Is it as good as an iPhone? No (bury device to the scrap heap of history). The iPhone is a great and game changing device, but it's a pain that everything gets compared to it. Seriously... it's not going to be the quality of the device that'll kill Palm, it'll be the public's response to the "iPhone killer" chatter.

Woo hooo!!! That is AWESOME news Matt! I'm so happy you got into the mix. Every nugget of visibility is good. Adding those few extra pennies from BMI is even better.
Congrats!

We've all had those times in our life when we are overwelmeed and get that idea of "maybe today, I'll just skip it". Having over daily 1300 podcasts under my belt, I TOTALLY understand. But yes, you need to push through.

In the same respect, sometimes it's ok to take a break. There have been a couple times when the 7-day a week thing has kicked my butt enough that I simply needed an evening to turn the brain off. You have to be careful not to make it a habit, but a break can often give you the energy to accomplish twice as much as you would have if you plodded along exhausted that one extra day.

Great. Now I need the brain bleach to get THAT image out of my head.... haha

Was it a bad choice for Bob to keep interacting with customers after being explicitly told not to? Yes. But what is more telling is that it doesn't appear that the company had any interest in at least handing off these new interactions to their "social media group." Very sad.

Equate that action to this: A customer calls up the company. An employee picks up the phone and says, "can I help you?". The customer explains the reason for the call and is glad there was someone there ready to engage with. At this point, the employee is told not to say anything more. The employee simply stops talking mid-call, or at worst, completely hangs up on the customer.

Would YOU do this to a customer? Would you pick up the phone and say nothing? Would you hang up on them? Would you also walk away from a face-to-face conversation?

In the very least, I would have liked to see some sort of effort on the part of this company to complete these "calls", no matter if Bob was involved or not. Not doing so speaks volumes in itself.

YOU
ARE
EVIL
:)

I had the email all set to send to my business partners to show them this vid after I watched it on uStream. Rock on.

Those buying for Google understand the value-add of targeted advertising. You need to show them that not only do you get targeted advertising in the social media space, but you also get INFLUENCED advertising. THAT my friend is HUGE.

That guy's going to drop a brick if he Google's your name.

I had the email all set to send to my business partners after watching this on uStream. Rock on.

That guy's going to drop a brick if he Google's your name.

You're fortunate to consider this an event. It's a daily struggle in our house, and one we have yet to find a good answer for. We jokingly call our 4-year-old daughter a "starch-itarian". Bread, pasta ... that's about it for dinner. She'll go as far as not even trying it, NOR eating that "emergency meal" simply because we had the audacity to put something in front of her that didn't look like it would appeal to her in the first place. (Needless to say, the emergency meals stopped in a hurry.) Our older son would follow the "I'm not going to eat it either" scenario once in a while as well. After realizing that it was happening every night, that concept quickly vanished in his mind.

A few the myriad of things we have tried with our daughter include:
"Try it, you may like it."
"Eat 4 bites, and you can have some dessert."
"Well... maybe it's time to go to bed."
"Can I eat your dinner instead?"
Full on cheerleader approach... cheering her on to take a bite
"Daddy makes us a great dinner every night, and look how sad he is!"
"You can't leave the table until you eat X amount of food."

Yeah... very little success. She seems to be softening to trying more here in the last week, so we'll see if it stays that way.

Anyone else struggle with this that wants to share their ideas?

Absolutely Gary. I wrote about this very thing back in March. Having been in traditional media AND having lost my job due to this very cut back in advertising in a poor economy, I know the impact it has on traditional media very very well.

You nailed it on the head when you said that advertising will be diverted to online channels where ROI is better instead of being cut all together. Companies are finally starting to see the true potential of utilizing online social media. Marketing on the internet has matured a lot since the last economic downturn. Also unlike 2001, the internet is not the focus of the economic downturn, so the trust level of the internet is much higher. The maturation of social media is here at the right time.

In this economic downturn, companies should not be in the business of keeping newspapers, magazines, etc. from failing . They need to be in the business of optimizing THEIR business.

DadLabs is one of my favorite video podcasts, and I've been spreading it around for a while. Witty, well produced, irreverent at times, but informative as well.

In addition to being mindful of where your children frequent on the internet, it may not be a bad idea to set up Google Alerts for their name or usual online handle.

If you're reading this blog, you are probably more connected than a vast majority of parents. Staying on top of trends is certainly important, but when it comes down to it, you simply need to instill in your children the dangers (in addition to the benefits) of an online presence. They'll still be kids and make their mistakes, but giving them the knowledge tools to make an informed decision at those times is very important.

You should also check to see what kind of policies your school has with regards to cell phones. Most require that they be powered off and not taken out during school hours. Some go as far as not allowing students to even carry a cell phone into the school.

Internet on the phone is going to be a huge problem going forward for parents as mobile web explodes. I wasn't aware that some cell providers offer parental blocks on web browsing. Very cool. We keep the family computer in the main room specifically so we can keep an eye on what our kids are doing. It's kind of hard to do this on a portable, mobile device.

No single phone will be an iPhone killer. Apple has too much of a cult following to be outdone.

That said, Android is going to change the game over the next few years, not a specific hardware device. The wealth of applications is a plus, but the ability for Google to leverage it's ad network to deliver proximity advertising to you is the game changer. Eventually, this advertising pays for your phone... your service, etc. Mobile web expectations and VoIP on Andriod will make WiMax and next gen networks more important as data becomes of primary importance.

Let me take a slightly different perspective... I too was not at the show, but have been curious to what has been going on.

No matter if you feel recording and posting part of the show online is GOOD for the performer, they have the right to demand that you respect copyright based on their contract with the venue. Period. This simply needs to be expressly stated at the beginning. This is why they announce it before a theater performance, display it in the movie theater, etc. Mr. Cheese looks like the jerk even more when HE has to state "you're not allowed to record". The venue should have said UP FRONT that this was the agreement, and most of this would have been resolved before it happened.

However, like what Chris said... what Mr. Cheese did could NEARLY be considered assault from a legal standpoint. Kind of a gray area, but he should have demanded that the venue take care of things instead of him getting in their face. Just like the announcement regarding the recording falls to the venue, enforcing the rule should also logically fall on the venue.

What’s really sad is that Brian’s reputation is what gets hurt here. Not only from the idiotic, rude, and totally unacceptable response from Cheese, but also from the unwilling “new media rebels” that think the rules don’t apply to them simply because they feel that “this is what they SHOULD be able to do.”

Of course... how do they know they really aren't allowed to record if the venue didn't step the the plate and ANNOUNCE IT UP FRONT?

Well done with the links to your other web entities. You are a smart, smart man.

I'm been looking for a new phone myself. I simply have problems swallowing the significantly more expensive cell plan. If I decide to dive into things right now and not wait for Andriod, I'd personally go toward the Samsung Instinct (Sprint). It can do video (and upload directly out of the box), has a full web browser, turn by turn GPS (which Apple says the iPhone will NOT have), voice dial (something I use a lot on my current junk phone), can use it as a modem over bluetooth. Cost $130, but you have to sign up for one of their "everything" plans, which start at $70. Sigh...

The app store for the iPhone is a tempting treat, but like you, I CAN'T STAND AT&T.

Hmm... I DO see the resemblance. Had to view it larger on Matt's Flickr page (link references the captcha).

Part one of "Matthew Ebel Takes Over The World" complete. "Drive Away" is part 2.

I certainly agree. While you could argue that there is endless opportunity in personal branding, getting in NOW is of utmost importance. Not because you won't be able to have an impact in the future, but because it gets more and more difficult to stand out from the crowd as more people get involved. To take a quote from a recent Disney movie... "once everyone is a superhero, no one will be a superhero." It has some merit. What will you do to stand out NOW?

I've been working hard for 3 1/2 years. Every day, 1100+ podcasts, and I'm just now seeing the fruits start to bud with business contacts coming in. And that's with the easiest thing to find on the internet. Weather. But time is short, and I'm already starting to fight the uphill battle as I haven't been as fast on the upswing as I should be.

As Gary said... do it now. Don't wait.

"...just about as right as your local news center."
- laughing yet casting a stern eye toward you. :)

The prevailing problem with online pitches is that many PR organizations is that they view email as simply an easy and low-cost distribution method. Until these organizations start to realize that they need to prepare for an online pitch in much of the same fashion as if they were making a phone call, PR will continue to get a bad rap online.

YES YES YES YES YES!

Spot on Gary. As more and more people look at new media as a money making opportunity, the more the corporate culture of numbers keeps creeping into things. Numbers do not equal success.

The kicker is that even your small, close-knit, ENGAGED community at the beginning was more valuable than 1,000 inactive participants.

The same thing you'd do for a regular hurricane season. Have things available if you live in hurricane prone areas. "Above average" does not mean above average hitting the US. Even if it did, would you prepare any differently?

Actually, I believe this was announced a month or two ago. Good to see it live!

Awww... that's horrible news. I'm so sorry Chel. I know how badly you wanted to be a part of the trial. I know how much your hearing has bothered you. Just know that we're all grieving along side of you. Hopefully the trials will go quickly and successfully so that you can get in on a full release of the technology!
Hang in there girl!