My Take On 2010 Technology Predictions OS Wars

In my first post I talked about the platform wars, today I want to talk about the Operating Systems (OS) Wars.

There are really only three operation systems on the market people will generally know; Microsoft Windows, Apple Mac OS X, and Linux. There are a couple of operating systems that are getting some buzz, but most people don't know they are using them, or don't recognize the fact they are operating systems. These are mobile or light weight OS's, like Google's Chrome OS, Android, Windows Mobile, iPhone, and Palm Pre.

Desktop Operating Systems
Hands down the winner will remain the Windows, specifically, Windows 7. Personally I've been using Windows 7 for a few months now, written several blog posts on it, and can say it's just as stable as Windows XP. Sorry non-windows fan boys, but it is.

Next up will continue to be Apple's Mc OS X. The real issue most people have with the Mac OS is that it will only run on Apple hardware. Many have tried, some have succeeded, but most fail to run the Mac OS on anything other than an Apple computer. The cost for Apple computers typically keeps the average user from purchasing, and so never get an opportunity to use Mac OS X. Snow Leopard, the latest version, 1.6, is a fantastic operating system. It has all the bells and whistles you could want. But at least in 2010, it will stay behind Windows, and I don't think Apple cares one bit.

Finally we have Linux. A real geek operating system. This system isn't for the faint at heart. While distros (that's what a version of Linux is called, a distro, or distribution package) from Ubuntu and Red Hat slip in consumer features such as a graphical user interface, pre loaded applications, and the ability to manage various hardware features, you still have to have some technical understand of computers, and how to use command line tools.

Personally, I like Linux. I think it's a solid operating system that stands up to the most rigorous user. But in the coming year for desktop operating systems, Windows 7 will take even a wider market share.

Mobile Operating Systems
As I stated above, several new mobile operating systems will make some waves. I know a lot of geeky friends will want the Google phone to take over the world, it just won't. There needs to be a lot of baking before that phone will make a huge dent. You will see lot's of hype, but just as the iPhone hasn't succeeded in world domination, neither will the Google phone. But it will be cool to see what happens. What I'm hoping Nexus One does, with it's unlocked phone (meaning it's not keyed to any service provider) is to push the major manufactures to lower their prices for unlocked phones. People want choices, which is what Nexus One will give them. That will be fun to watch.

The net result of the OS War in 2010 will be negligible. Operating systems have become boring. As long as it's stable, doesn't require continual reboots, market shares will remain the same. Companies who produce operating systems make a huge capitol investment, and it takes several years, if ever, to recoup their costs. The average consumer is also averse to change. Updates are considered to be an annoyance, imagine having to upgrade the entire OS every couple of weeks.

I think the next big thing for operating systems will be slimmed down versions built specifically for an application. Linux does this, Chrome could do this. This will be the disruptive play; targeting hardware and applications. It's happening now I understand, but it will get even more specific over the next year or two.

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My Take On 2010 Technology Predictions Part 1

My good friend Kip Meacham asked his fellow propeller heads what they thought about Mark Anderson predictions he gave for 2010 in this video interview with BusinessWeek. Some the predictions I agree with, and others I don’t. I’m breaking this up into a 5 part series, giving my take on Marks 10 predictions for 2010. Here are my thoughts:

Platform Wars
There are more technology options for consumers today than ever before. I really think the three big ones to watch next year will Netbooks, Smart Mobile devices (phones like Android and iPhone), and eBook readers (like the Amazon Kindle).

• Netbooks are so cheap, you can almost look at them as disposable computers. With sizes around 10 inches, they almost fit in your pocket. Enough memory and storage to perform basic computing tasks, you can almost get away with using nothing but a Netbook. There are plenty of hacks out there to help you find all the online services you could need, for free, or very cheap.


• Smart Mobile Devices, the one device people are never more than a few feet away from these days, will really start to change the mobile computing landscape this next year. Retailers and web site that sell products, really need to step up to the plate and offer mobile versions of their site, with complete e-commerce. This technology is available now, it just needs to be implemented. Don’t miss this huge opportunity.


• eBook Readers like the Kindle have come on the market very strong. The Kindle isn’t the only player, in fact I don’t care for the physical device, but I am very excited about their iPhone and PC software versions. Other players in this market will need to catch up.

While smaller devices should increase their market share in the coming year, there is a lot of infrastructure that needs to catch up. One of those is e-commerce and micro payments which I’ll cover in another part of this series.

Another issue is always on Internet access. Today you can get 3G wireless Internet access on Smart Mobile devices, PC or phone, but at a hefty cost. More and more places are offering free or cheap Internet access, like the local coffee shop or library.

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Amazon Adds Media Streaming, Spot Instances, and VPC Cloud Services

Amazon AWS just keeps getting better and better. Today the company announced three new services to it’s AWS product line.

Amazon CloudFront Streaming
This new services gives you a world class media server in the cloud. You can now stream media files, audio and video, from a server using Adobe Flash Media Server. As with all Amazon AWS services, this is a pay for what you use, no upfront costs to start and no minimums.

CloudFront puts your files on the networks edge, delivering your content quicker, which is a great benefit when streaming audio or video files. No need to spend thousands on hardware and software.

Amazon EC2 Spot Instances
This is an interesting concept, your basically given the opportunity to bid on unused EC2 capacity. Minimum prices are set for the unused capacity, called a Spot Price, and as long as your bid doesn’t exceed that Spot Price, you can continue to use the service. I’m probably not doing it justice here, so read more about it.

Because this service may not be available for an extended period of time, suggested uses for this option would be video processing and conversion, processing research data, or modeling or analyzing data. There is some risk for data loss when using EC2 servers in this manner. You will need to make sure your price is high enough that your instance isn’t turned off in the middle of processing data.

Amazon VPC Unlimited Public Beta
This is probably the most exciting feature of the three. VPC stands for Virtual Private Cloud (similar to Virtual Private Network or VPN). It’s a standard used by companies allowing users and networks to connect with each other securely. Now the cool part. You can extend your current companies IT infrastructure into isolated Amazon compute resources via VPC, instantly adding secure private capacity to your existing infrastructure. You can also use your existing management tools to safeguard the server while on your network.

This is a hot new feature. It’s worth taking some time to review the options. If your organization often meets or exceeds existing resources, this could be an incredibly cost effective option to increase capacity, and maintain total control as if the servers were on your own network.

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Welcome DigitalThom Subscribers

Welcome to those of you who had been subscribed to my digitalthom site. Lot’s of nifty stuff going on here, more to come.

I really wanted to write more on this post, but it just isn’t going to happen.

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KnockingLive Is A Killer iPhone App In 2009

[... I had written about two thirds of this post on my iPhone using the WordPress app, while I was sitting at the bar in a Chilis restaurant. I saved the post as a draft, but when I tried to reload the post to finish, all the content was gone. All of it. This is the second or third time the WordPress app for the iPhone has failed me. I won't make that mistake again. I'm finding something else. Is there something else? Evernote?]

The killer iPhone apps just keep getting better and better. Yesterday I introduced you to the Ustream Broadcaster iPhone application. Today it's KnockingLive. The KnockingLive's approach is a little different. It uses the same technology to capture video, the iPhones camera view, but adds the ability to share video with a specific user or users. That's right, you can stream private video to other iPhone users. And the other users even get a "knock knock" on their phone when you want to share something.

There is also an incredible sister app that allows you to share photos, or albums, and the receiving phone can choose to save the photos to their local phone. Wow. I'll about this one next.

One thing this company has done is create a website that shows you how to use the features in several scenarios via videos. Very cool.

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UStream Broadcaster Killer iPhone App In 2009

I've had the UStream Broadcaster iPhone application for one day and I am calling it the best application of 2009. Why? Because my iPhone 3G doesn't have a video camera, but UStream has managed to over come that by streaming what you see out of the camera before you take a snapshot. Basically streaming the looking glass.

Here are a few screen shots

If you notice the above image, you can send a link of the video to Twitter and Facebook, and also upload directly to YouTube.

Streaming isn't too bad. I watched a stream my brother was broadcasting, and the quality wasn't too bad.

I'm marking this app as one of the Killer Apps all iPhone owners should have. And best of all, it's free!

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My Business Wish List For 2010

I read Chris Brogans list the other day, and since I want to be like Chris, I just had to create my own list. I like that he has actual measurable goals. Things that you can so yes I did that, or no I missed the mark on that one. The one thing I regret not having completed this year, and one I promised Jason Alba I would complete, was writing one, if not two, books. I have some of one book written, but that doesn’t mean jack. So here it goes.

My Business Plans For 2010:

• For PressDev, I want to create new site tells the story much better. I’ve been wire framing something, but now it’s time to implement.
• I want more of my contacts to know and understand what my company does. I want to understand better what my company does.
• I want to bring several new business sites online. There is a small window of opportunity here, I need to strike fast.
• I want to publish at least 3 books under the Complete Geek Guide To: title.
• I want to finish my WordPress Book, I’m Using WordPress, Now What???
• Then I want to write more vertical books on Enterprise Content Management Systems.
• I want to help more people put on community driven events, like WordCamps and PodCamps.
• I want to blog more, and use Twitter and Facebook more strategically.

My Business Wish List For 2010

• I want to speak at more events next year. Do you need someone to speak on WordPress or Podcasting, contact me.
• I want to do less coding and more strategic planning and solution architecting. I have 20+ years in the IT field, it’s not my first rodeo.
• I want to read more.
• I want to create more video content.
• I want to stop using all the excuses that keep me from going where I want to go.

These are just some of the things I want and hope to accomplish in 2010. Most importantly, I want to diversify by creating multiple streams of income. Having all your eggs in one basket can cause some serious problems, as I am finding out right now.

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Please Pitch Me A Win Win Venture

In my post yesterday, I asked that you not pitch me one sided ventures. Today, I’m asking you to pitch me win win ventures.

Let me start by saying, lot’s of programmers, designers, and other freelancers, are looking for great projects. They want to be part of something as big and bad as you do. Let’s work together to make that happen. I love bootstrapping. It’s the fastest way to get a company off the ground. Synergy, and a good plan, can overcome most obstacles.

I love exploring new ideas. A few weeks ago I attended the Kynetx Impact Conference, and the ideas were flowing all around me. Everyone seemed to have some idea how they could leverage the Kynetx API. I heard some excellent ideas. I even had one. It didn’t turn out to be something Kynetx was suited for, but I was encouraged to explore my idea thoroughly.

I can always get a sense of how good an idea I have when I run it by a few of my good friends. When they give me the “huh, that sounds interesting” response, I know I haven’t communicated my idea well enough, or it totally sucks and I need to go back to the drawing board.

I’ll use an example of someone pitching me an idea, and how they were successful at getting me on board. It started very out innocent. We met for a lunch. We talked about the idea, we sketched some things on paper, we talked about the holes, we talked about the market, we talked about the competitors. We really didn’t talk much about a product. We talked about a vision and an idea.

Then we met a few days later, this time with the understanding we would discuss a project. After about twenty minutes of hearing the enthusiasm, the passion, the commitment this person has made in getting his project off the ground, I was sold. I would have done just about anything he asked. He even eked out a prototype on his own. Rudimentary as it was, I could tell he had put a lot of thought into it.

I would love to hear your ideas. I would love to help you get those ideas off the ground. I would be glad to connect you with people who have the means and ability to rock your project. I’m committed to helping others succeed. Because when you succeed, I succeed.

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Please Don’t Pitch Me A One Sided Venture

What is a one sided venture? It goes like this:

I understand you’re are a programmer? Well, I have this great idea for a product, it will be the next killer app, all I need you to do is sign this NDA, write a few thousand lines of code, and take a five percent equity stake in the company. I’ll do the rest.

That is a one sided venture. Why? Because the programmer is doing all the work, for air, and hoping you can do your job; sell the product to investors or customers.

I get this type of proposal at least once a week, if not more. I’m sure there are many projects that have had success with this model. But for the one that succeeds, thousands never make it off the floor.

I would love to have someone pitch me a venture where I’m offered compensation up front for the work I do, AND a stake in the company. Then everyone has skin in the game. Why do people think programmers should take such a risk? Show me you’ve got something invested in the venture besides the idea. Those are cheap, and I hear hundreds of ideas a year. For heaven sakes, I have hundreds of ideas.

That brings me to non disclosure agreements, or NDA’s. If I can get away without signing one, I will. When a lawyer tells you not to discuss your idea with anyone until they sign the NDA, they are smoking crack. Asking me to sign an NDA really tells me the idea isn’t that solid, or you think you’re the only one on the planet with the idea, which of course probably isn’t true. If not signing an NDA keeps me from accepting a project, most of the time it’s ok with me.

Look, if I had time to steal ideas, you would already know that about me before we spoke, which means you wouldn’t be talking with me in the first place. And if it came right down to me signing one, I would probably ask you to sign an agreement giving me full and exclusive rights to any code written. Seems only fair no?

All I’m asking is if you’re in the market for a freelancer to help get your project off the ground, don’t go in expecting they will fall all over themselves to help you, for free. Use some common sense. Show us that you are serious about the product and business. We’ll play ball if the venture seems legit, and you have a proven track record too.

In full disclosure, I’ve excepted work on speculation in the past, but I’ve always tried to give something tangible back in return. I would never expect to get something for free, and use it in a project I am making money on.

[off my soap box, let the flames begin]

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Looks Like Fancy Commenting Systems Don’t Rule

Over the past week I have been running a poll asking what WordPress commenting systems people like. The options were Disqus, IntenseDebate, Native – built in, or None. Here is how it broke down:

• 59% of respondents preferred native commenting to a third party system.
• 25% of respondents preferred Disqus.
• 16% of respondents preferred IntenseDebate.

These are completely un-scientific results. I’ll continue to run the poll to see if I can get more results, and I’ll update this post, or if the overall results change, I’ll write up something new.

What I find interesting is those who answered picked the native commenting system. Some of the things I would like to know is why? With the third party commenting systems providing log-ins for Facebook, Twitter, OpenID and others, the appeal to use these Social Network links doesn’t seem to be a draw.

I don’t particularly care one way or the other what commenting systems people use. I have Disqus installed on this blog, if for no other reason than I like being able to track and manage my comments on this and other sites who use Disqus.

Here’s a thought though. It would be cool to use a Gravatar type system, where your comments are tied to your email address, pinged back to a service, and then you can manage and track your comments on a wider range of sites.

My friend Scott Lemon (@humancell) also suggested another commenting system called Echo, you get more information on it here http://js-kit.com/.

If you would like to participate in my poll, please check it out here http://ow.ly/Hxj1.

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Vooks Will Crush eBooks

I paid for and downloaded my first Vook, Crush It!, an ebook with embeded digital media, like videos.

The funny thing is I already own the physical Crush It! book, and have read it twice. But the added value of watching videos from Gary Vanerchuk, which gives the book enormous value.

I would really like to see Vooks available for all mobile platforms. You can buy a Vook for the computer desktop, which is still pretty cool, and watching the videos is much nicer on a large screen.

Vooks will crush eBooks. Once authors and publishers see the possibilities Vooks have over eBooks, value will increase for the reader and drive more profits to the author and publisher.

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WordPress Releases New iPhone App

This post is really a test using the new WordPress iPhone App, http://iphone.wordpress.org, version 2.1. I really want to test the picture upload feature.

You do have the ability to manage comments, but if you use a comment plugin system like Disqus, you can't moderate those comments.

I do like that you can create pages with this tool. I also like that I can manage multiple blogs.

I don't like that I can't insert a place holder god a photo, so I have no idea how the format will look. And how do create a linked word? Doesn't seem exist.

This is a great tool for creating quick, non-complicated posts.

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Two New Features I Love In Windows 7

I’ve been using Windows 7 for a few months, and I’ve come to enjoy two features not seen in Windows XP or Windows Vista.

The first is a fast list that is shown when you click on an item in the task bar and move the mouse up just slightly, this menu below will show up. It doesn’t work for every application, but for applications like browsers, you can quickly selected a web page you’ve visited recently. Kind of cool.

The next neat feature I really like, and in fact, one that ups the coolness factor, is the built in search. When you click on the start button, the expanding menu now includes a search box. If you’re looking for an application or document, start typing the name or key word, and a list of files or applications meeting your criteria show up. This has given me an increase in productivity when it comes to finding the application and documents I want to open.

I’m still not a Windows fan boy, but Windows 7 has been a lot easier to use than previous versions.

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5 Step Web Hosting Disaster Recovery Plan

In light of a recent web hosting snafu at MediaTemple, I wanted to share 5 things you can do to recover from a web hosting disaster. Most of these require some time to set up and your vigilance. But if followed, you can rebound from a disaster in a short amount of time.

1. Create your disaster recovery plan. The easiest part of a disaster recovery plan is to actually have a plan.This plan should include:

• A list of the sites you maintain
• A list of user names and passwords for your sites
• The databases names, server addresses or IP, user names and passwords, that are used for your list of sites
• FTP user names and passwords for each of your sites
• Your web hosts tech support number
• Have a backup web host decided in case for some reason you need to move quickly
• Know how to get into your domain registrar so you can change Name Servers if needed
• Name, number, email of a web professional that may be able to help restore your systems if needed

I recommend having it on paper, and online. Use Google Docs if you don’t have a word processor.

2. Create an automated backup of your site. This one step is vital to a disaster recovery plan. If you don’t have a complete backup, database and disk files, recovery is not in the cards. There are plenty of options available, and most hosting companies provide a backup mechanism. Automate if you can. At the very least complete a manual backup.

A word of caution here. Make sure you understand what your web host will and won’t back up for you. I found out the hard way when a previous host revealed they hadn’t been backing up my sites because I had to many files. Defeats the purpose of backing up.

3. Test your backups as least once a week. When you get your backups, whether they are in archived format or not, make sure the files are readable and can be use if and when the time comes. This is an advanced procedure, the longer between tests put you at greater risk for having a problem. For example, if for some reason you are unable to open the archives that hold your database SQL files, you would not be able to restore them again. This could be disastrous.

4. Put backups in multiple locations. If you keep all of your backups on the web server your sites are on, and it goes down, how will you get to your backups? I recommend you keep them in several locations.

• GMail is a great storage place for backups. Create a new account just to hold your backups.
• Copy your backups to a local hard drive.
• Keep a copy on another web site or service like Amazon S3.

5. At least once a month practice a recovery. If you run a critical web site, or you host sites for others, I would highly recommend you practice a complete recovery at least once a month, at the very least once a quarter. Using your plan to recover from you local backups, knowing how the restore process works with a database and FTP program to move files is important. Don’t wait until the something has happened just to find out you don’t have everything.

Technology fails. People fail. Both of these things can cost you time and money. You can never be too prepared. It doesn’t take much to get your plan in place. I’m sure there is more you can do, so by all means, add that to your plan. What else would you recommend?

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Two Impressive Ecommerce Plug-ins For WordPress

I’m asked frequently what ecommerce plug-ins I have used and recommend for WordPress. There are several options, but two stand out.

WP e-Commerce Plug-in For WordPress

WP e-Commerce is a free plug-in and can be installed right from the plug-in section of your hosted WordPress admin tool. There are several modules for this product including drop shipping, digital downloads, members only, and an affiliate option. These modules are reasonably priced, but can add up if your trying to be cost conscious.

Support for this plug-in comes from a forum on their site. Understand that a majority of questions about product issues are answered by community members. The website also encourages you to buy a documentation file for $35. I’ve never seen this before, but I suppose it’s their way of reducing the need to answer support questions. I should also mention the documentation isn’t written by the plug-in developer, but rather a user of the product.

If e-commerce isn’t your WordPress sites sole function, I would use WP e-Commerce. It’s simplicity and feature rich free version should be enough for the casual seller. A list of features can be found here.

Shopp Ecommerce Plug-in For WordPress

The next application I want to share is Shopp plug-in for ecommerce. This plug-in is not free, and you will pay for enhanced features. But the thing I really like about this product is it’s breadth of features. From the WordPress Dashboard integration to the drag and drop functionality of putting products in the shopping cart.

You’ll find advanced features like inventory management, multiple shipping types, data export for Excel and Quickbooks, and various language translations. One of the major features I think sets this product apart is the cross selling option. Like Amazon, you can give your buyers the ability to buy other products that may be related, or up sell them to something of more value. Other products in this space are rushing to implement this feature, it’s that important.

Support comes from a forum on the companies website, which seems to be pretty active. Take a look at the features here. While having to pay for modules may seem costly, these modules make the product a commercial grade ecommerce system that integrates into WordPress.

I’m finding Ecommerce is becoming a natural extension of the WordPress platform. I’ve installed both products, and find them to be the best available at this time. I would like to see these companies extend their products to work with mobile themes. As an example, if you are running the WPtouch plug-in, which gives iPhone users an elegant theme, you can’t use the shopping cart to buy products. Kind of defeats the purpose of having a mobile compliant site.

What ecommerce products have you used the integrate with WordPress? What has been your experience?

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Book Review: TwittFaced

Twitter is something I know pretty well. I've been a user for 2 years. While I don't have tens of thousands of followers, I understand the power of Twitter. When I learned Josh Peters wrote a book out on Twitter, titled TwittFaced, I thought I would give it a read. I gave Josh my money and off I went.

It's not a long read, 156 pages or so, but man, this book is packed to the rafters with information. Even if you think yo know Twitter, or several other social networking platforms, Josh and his co-author Jacob Morgan do a great job of outlining the hottest tools and applications you should be looking at. And the most important part of each chapter is explaining why and how to use the services successfully.

The cover reads "your toolkit for understanding & maximizing social media". I would agree. I have marked several chapters for re-reading. Chapter nine is chalk full of statistics on social media. Chapter five talks about Facebook and the many applications which can make your experience better. And chapter 21, how to keep from being overwhelmed. I really like all of the chapters but one, the chapter on MySpace. Maybe I'm being a snob here, but I don't see MySpace as having any relevance in social media. But Josh and Jacob give it some love in chapter six.

This is a great book. Easy to read, lot's of statistics, and some great examples explaining how to get the most out of these social media platforms.

Buy the book here. It's a link to Amazon, and if you buy the book, I get a few pennies.

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NaNoWriMo Started Today And I Didn't

National Novel Writing Month is a challenge for people to write and entire Novel, at least 50,000 words, in a thirty day timeframe. For the past several years I have attempted to write consistently for thirty straight days. I'm not sure why, maybe it's because I don't write as consistently as I should. Here is an example:

Today I wrote a measly 22 words. FAIL! I wrote them just so I could say I wrote something on day one. It's a great story really, and I want to write it out. The output is 1650 something words shy of what I should be writing daily if I really wanted to make a go of it.

I will try harder over the next several days and try and catch up. Most of the time I make huge headway on the weekends.

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The Basics Of WordPress

Last night I lead a discussion on the Basics of WordPress at the Social Media Club of Salt Lake City. I really want to thank Pete Codella and Joseph Scott for asking me to participate. It was a lot of fun. Due to some technical difficulties, we had more of a discussion, which is always better than a boring lecture. Please find the slide deck here for you viewing pleasure.

Thank you to all who attended, you had some great questions, and several of you shared your experience. If you were in my class last night connect with me on Twitter or Facebook, or any number of other social network sites. Or a good old email/phone call works too.

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Oh Yeah I Have Snow Leopard

Posted via web from The Thom Allen LifeStream

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Easy Way Detect Changes On The Clipboard With Windows API

A recent Windows Forms project required that I copy data from a grid and an associated object with each cell copied. This allows a user to paste the data in the same grid but in a different set of cells.

My problem came when a user would copy data from an external application like Excel, and tries to copy the text into my grid. I had to come up with a way to determine the user was trying to paste something copied from an external program.

There is a great solution using a Windows API called GetClipboardSequenceNumber().

[DllImport("user32.dll")]
static extern uint GetClipboardSequenceNumber();

Using this API allows you top capture the sequence number every time something is copied to the clipboard. Here is the workflow I went through.

1. Capture the sequence number when the mouse or keyboard events are fired

2. When the paste event is fired, check the clipboard sequence and compare it to one saved locally. If the numbers are difference, only paste the text, if they are the same, paste the text and the object.

I put the sequence capture in my Copy method so it’s changed internally every time someone chooses Edit/Copy from the menu, presses CTL-C, or right clicks and selects Copy from a popup menu.

This seems to work pretty well. There really isn’t any code to share other than the knowing which DLL and method to use. Where to store the sequence and how you use it is going to be up to you.

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Elevator Pitch 1.0

In a post from yesterday, I talked about my lack of an elevator pitch. I also admitted that I have a really hard time conveying what I actually do. This post is a simple explanation. It’s a work in progress. But here is the short direct answer:

I’m a programmer, and I run a company called PressDev. We are web designers and developers. We also build iPhone and social network applications, and create customized WordPress sites. This is what I do. And I do it really well.

If you don’t read any further, I’ve shared with you what I do. Without sounding like a resume, I’ll share some details, if you please.

Yes, I’ve done a lot of things. So far I’ve led a diverse life. I’ve traveled the world. I’ve worked for very small companies and very large companies. I spent four years in the United States Marine Corps in the mid eighties. Honestly, that experience shaped who I am today. It’s where I learned to lead by example, work in a team environment, and make decisions quickly.

I’ve spent over 20 years writing computer software. Yes, I write computer code. Most of the time in Microsoft C# and PHP, and even sometimes in Python. I’ve managed small and large teams. I’ve managed offshore development teams. I’ve architected complete software solutions.

In order to be an expert at something, I believe you must immerse yourself in it. Personally I’ve spent years building a career network. I think that’s why I find so much value in services like Twitter, Facebook, and blogging. I was a very early adopter of LinkedIn. I’m an early adopter of most technology. That’s how I stay ahead. And while my business isn’t being an expert in marketing using Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn, I spend a lot of time using the social networks so I can help my customers best use the services in their personal or business life.

I also like to speak in technology topics. I’ve spoken dozens of time to small and large audiences. I love the share my knowledge.

I’m also an entrepreneur. My mind never stops thinking though ideas and try getting them off the ground. That may be why some people are confused at what I do. It’s interesting, because if you look at someone like Gary Vaynerchuk, he does a lot of things, but you still think of him as the Wine Library guy. No matter what I’m doing, my core is still the same.

Whew, I’m sure that’s about all I want to share in this post. Go ahead, ask questions. Tell me what you think.

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A Question That Haunts Me Wherever I Go

I recently attended a local social networking event (one where you meet people face to face, not through #hashtags.) I like to get to these things early for the chance to network. You never know who you are going to meet. And this time was unlike many in the past. I’ll get to the title of the post, “The Question That Haunts Me Where Ever I Go”, in just a few minutes. This is something I must work up too.

The first person I was introduced too was Alistair Cockburn (thanks @ghennipher). In the software development world, Alistair is the rock star God of the agile methodology. I’ve met him before, but he wouldn’t remember because they were quick meets. But I’ve followed his work, and I appreciate all that he has given to the development community. I was fortunate to have 10 minutes of uninterrupted conversation. At the end, he started to ask me what I did. First sign the night was going to be rocky.

Next I spent several minutes shaking hands with various guest, many who I knew, and several I didn’t. Most asked me again, what I did. I wondered where these people had been. Why don’t they remember? I Exchanged some business cards, ate some food, and found a seat for the presentation. But my mind was not into what was going on around me.

Fifteen minutes into the presentation I needed to get up and stretch my legs. I made my way to the back where another very good friend was standing. We quietly talked about a few things, and waited for the presentation to end. At some point during our conversation, he announced to the group we were standing with that I was connected to everyone. He doesn’t know this, but that kind of threw me. While I know a lot of people, and I feel I’m a pretty good networker, it feels unnatural when someone says that about me.

Now to the question. Just as we were about to head out for the night, I asked this good friend a question. I was hoping he would give me a straight answer, because I really needed some advice. The conversation went something like this:

Me: “So, it’s funny that you mentioned I’m connected to everyone. Do you really think that?”

Him: “Of course…”

Me: “So let me ask you, why do I have such a hard time getting people to remember what I do?”

Him: after a brief pause… “because no one really knows what you do! Most people think you do everything, but no one knows what you do. You’re always vague.”

Me: “So when I ask someone what you do, the immediate answer is, he’s the SEO guy.”

Him: “Right.”

Bingo. That was the candid answer I needed to hear. He went on to tell me I didn’t have an elevator pitch. He gave me his pitch. He’s worked on it for years. Me, I guess, for some selfish reason, assumed everyone already knows what I do. But I am so wrong. My friend encouraged me to spend some time putting together a better elevator pitch. It was so obvious, it’s even something I push others to do. But I haven’t taken my own advise.

There are two parts to me; the one I need to be, and the one I want to be. I read a blog post on JibberJobber yesterday about Job Envy. I guess my failure to successfully convey what I do stems from years of not wanting to be defined by my work. So I kept it vague. But as a business owner I can’t do that anymore. I need to clearly define what I do. There’s no way I can network without being able to convey what I do. It’s not the part I want to be, but it’s the part that I need to  be.

While I want to continue to discuss what I do and don’t do, I’ll save that discussion for tomorrow, and maybe a first draft of the elevator pitch. Thank you for taking a few minutes to read this.

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Creating Multiple Streams Of Income

At the beginning of 2009, Jason Alba started talking about multiple streams of income. Seeing how it's the middle of the year, it was time for an evaluation of my streams.

PressDev is my first income stream. The primary mission of PressDev is to build custom websites and software for businesses and individual. Our unique skill is converting static and stale websites into dynamic growing content management systems (usually with WordPress). We integrate social networks and digital media to make websites sticky. We also build social networking applications for platforms like Twitter and Facebook, and we also write iPhone, Android and Windows Mobile applications.

New services we are offering include SEO, Graphic and Logo Design, and Copy Writing.

Over the next several months I'll be profiling more of my income streams. I'll also be writing more on business and entrepreneurship.

Here is a breakdown of the revenue streams I’ve shared so far:

* Revenue Stream 1: PressDev
* Revenue Stream 2: (not announced yet)
* Revenue Stream 3: (not announced yet)
* Revenue Stream 4: (not announced yet)
* Revenue Stream 5: (not announced yet)
* Revenue Stream 6: (not announced yet)
* Revenue Stream 7: (not announced yet)
* Revenue Stream 8: (not announced yet)
* Revenue Stream 9: (not announced yet)
* Revenue Stream 10: (not announced yet)

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Today I Learned About WordPress Category Templates

Today I learned about category templates in WordPress. There is a simple, yet rarely used feature, that allows you to display content based on a specific category. For example, if you have 10 categories, with ID’s 1-10, and you want to show your visitors something different for each of these 10 categories, you can create files with this naming convention:

category-1.php, category-2.php, and so on.

When the URL http://mydomain.com/category/coolcat is entered into the browsers address bar, and WordPress sees a category request made, it looks for a category-x.php file in the main template folder. If one exists, that will be used over the default template file. If a template file isn’t found for the requested category, the next file that WordPress looks for is category.php. This is another template default file that can be applied to all categories that don’t have their own template. If a category.php isn’t found, then the default template file is used.

One thing I discovered while trying to get category templates to work, I was entering http://mydomain.com/coolcat and expecting the category template to display. But as you may know, WordPress was trying to find a Page named “coolcat”. I struggled with this for a week, and after ripping out the small hair follicles on my head, it dawned on me I was entering the wrong URL. Remember, /category/ must precede the category name, or it just doesn’t work.

Here is a link to the WordPress Codex explaining category template.

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Kindle Is Convenient But Not Always The Best Choice

I know that’s a bold statement, not cost affective. Why am I saying that? Let’s look at a few things. Utah author Brandon Sanderson (who, by the way is finishing Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series), has The Well of Ascension (Mistborn, Book 2) for sale on Amazon in paperback for $7.99. The Kindle version of this book is, $7.99. No savings, and I don’t get a physical book. Why is that important?

In my opinion the Kindle is a great Green appliance. It allows you to read a book without killing trees and eventually ending up in a land fill. However, I like the ability to resale, or even donate, a book once I’m through. With a Kindle book, you can’t. I’m also at the mercy of the Kindle having a power issue, and then I can’t read a book. And the Kindle doesn’t have limitless storage, which limits my library.

I guess I’m struggling paying eight bucks for a digital book. I believe the digital version should be a lot less. I know many Kindle books have a cheaper price than their paper counterpart, but those books tend to be older. Give us new releases for at least half the cost since it should only take half the effort to produce, stock and ship.

I really like the Kindle. In fact, I love the iPhone version (iTunes link). It’s convenient, and I find I’m reading more because I have the book with me all the time.

If you’re an Author, and I know this may buy me some heat here, urge your publisher and Amazon to reduce the price of your digital works. I know I will.

Share with us your view on Kindle books, and if you have one, either the Kindle device or the iPhone application and how you like it.

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Now You Can Access Google Tasks In Mail, Calendar and Mobile Applications

Finally, Tasks are part of the Google calendaring application. The Task feature has been available for a while now, but it wasn’t available as part of the calendaring system, where I believe most people want and need to use a task management system.

As is typical with Google, it’s not a flashy part of the calendaring system. Looking at the image below, you can almost miss it if you weren’t paying attention.



Just like adding a calendar event, when you click on a time line or day box, a bubble window pops up, giving you the ability to add an event or a task. Once you have entered the text for your tasks, you will immediately see the task show up on the day you want the task due. You will also see in the Task pane on the right of the calendar, you can see it in a pane on the right of GMail, and as you can see from my iPhone I was able to see the task immediately.







So as it stands today, Google has basically made tasks available across all the application you would expect to see it, GCal, GMail and in mobile applications.

One feature I hope they implement soon are multiple task buckets. You can create tasks on the iPhone in a sort of bucket, but all calendar and mail task entries end up in the default task list. That isn’t a big deal, but I have tasks separated into groups (like things I do every Monday as an example).

There are several actions available when you have the task list pane open. You can edit, indent, sort, and several more. You will find the actions at the bottom of the task list.

This is a great step for this feature. I use tasks all the time, now I can see them across all my Google apps.

[Update: 05/14/09]I wanted to make a small change to this post. It appears that you can move a task to another list once you have created it. There is a small drop down at the bottom of the bubble form when you are editing a task that lets you move it to a new list. Didn't see that before. That drop down list should also be on the new entry form. Hello Google?

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Beautiful Views

This was the best view!

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The Importance Of People Versus Technology

People are where it's at. Technology is just a vehicle.

Today is April 1st. Typically people see today as the start of Spring. A time to renew. A time to access our plan for the year, and make some course corrections.

PodCampSLC 2009 just wrapped up a few days ago. Having the opportunity to meet people I have only interacted with through technology was awesome. I think it is vitally important for people to meet face to face. You can't hide behind a screen. Venture out. Meet up. There are so many things going on out there, you might even discover some new friends.

Things are sort of back to normal. I don't think I'll take on such a huge project again with as little help as I did. The community is bigger than that, and the community deserves to be more involved.

Check out the PodCampSLC website for updates on this past camp and to stay current with upcoming events.

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Google Offers Mobile Friend Finder With Latitude Service (But Not For The iPhone)

Google pushed out a new product today called Google Latitude. It basically lets you find friends in geographical locations via Google Maps. This is pretty cool. Loopt has been doing this for a while, and so have others. I'm not really sure I see the value in this, other than its a great way to stalk your friends. If I really wanted to know where someone was, I would just ask them.

The interesting part is it wasn't released for the iPhone. It does work on the Android of course, Blackberry and Windows Mobile. But with GPS and mapping so tightly integrated into the iPhone, I'm really surprised this was left out of the initial release. I hardly ever used mapping on my Windows Mobile device.

Is Google targeting a service like BrightKite.com, where I can check in at a specific location, or upload photos and give it a geo tag? I can see better uses for this service than just seeing who around me. I would also like to be able to update my social network too, like FriendFeed or Twitter, with a link to my latest location.

I'm not sure if this was intentional or chance, but the map on the Latitude home page was in my general area. Weird, huh? Stalking at its best.

[image title="Google Latitude" size="full" id="1051" align="none" linkto="full" ]

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Google Finally Puts Tasks On The iPhone

I noticed you can now get your Google Tasks on the iPhone with a very pleasing user interface. Even though its web based, it has pretty much everything you could possibly want from a simple and easy to use task management system.

The simplicity of this product is amazing. You can create and manage separate tasks lists, and create or remove tasks from the iPhone.

Couple of drawback I can see right off the bat:

• Can't move a task from one list to another


• Can't set a default list to show


• Tasks aren't ranked


• Can't see a list of all active tasks, if you have more than one list

But for basic task management, this is a good first stab. I know Google will release more features as it carefully tracks usage.

Here are a few screen shot from my iPhone

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Is An RSS Feed Important Anymore?

Goolge has started transitioning users from Feedburner to its own brand of RSS delivery. After I completed the transition I reviewed the different RSS feeds that are being distributed through Feedburner, and I started to wonder if RSS feeds actually have any value individually.

My reason to question this is I have FriendFeed consuming all of my blogs RSS feeds, my Twitter Feed, my Flickr feed and many other. In essence I am posting all of my content in one location which doesn't require you to subscribe to my individual feeds, only one FriendFeed. So my question is, are RSS feeds becoming a means to display multiple streams of content in a single location, which can also provide a single RSS feed to consume if someone chooses too?

I know RSS has value, but I'm wondering if it has the same value today as it did a year ago. Are you subscribing to as many individual feeds as you have in the past or are you letting social networks help give you the streams you are most interested in?

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While Qik Is A Leap Forward, Mass Adoption Will Be Slow

Jesse Stay wrote a piece for Louis Grey where he asks if Sundance can do for Qik what SXSW did for Twitter. I say no. I'm not saying Qik isn't an important or impressive technology, I'm simply saying Qik doesn't have the reach Twitter did, and therefore won't have as big an impact.

Here are my reasons. Qik is only supported by a small amount of handsets, unlike Twitter, which supports SMS and the mobile web. If I can't get to the content easily, or produce content easily, I'm not going to use it, and I don't think others will either. Most people will have to be logged into a computer in order to see any of the videos created, and that diminishes the purpose of a mobile social tool.

The next issue is technology and infrastructure. Many of today's handsets don't have internet access, and if they do it's not fast enough to handle streaming video. Again this leaves out a vast majority of mobile device owners who can't participate with their mobile device. I realize you can post a link to the Qik video, but I must be at my desktop to view it.

Next I think there is quality problem. I would assume because the amount of data being transfered the compression gives mobile video streaming really poor quality, sometimes unwatchable. For example, when Apple released the iPhone 3G, Jesse was at the Salt Lake City Apple store recording with Qik, but the quality was so bad it was almost impossible to follow. Nothing Jesse did, it was the technology.

I follow Robert Scoble, who is always Qik'ing video where ever he goes. When I'm logged in to my PC, I like to see what he's up to. Qik is great for recording video and sharing on the net, but so is YouTube, and it has a farther reaching affect. If you're lucky enough to have a handset that gives you this power, have fun. For those that don't, we'll have to wait for something truly revolutionary.

Maybe I'm wrong about the lack of wide spread use. But I don't think there are enough techie types at Sundance to give Qik nearly the thrust SXSW gave Tiwtter.

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CNN And Facebook Team Up To Bring Live Inauguration Content

This morning, CNN Live and Facebook have teamed up to bring viewers and interesting mix of video and chat. The layout shows the CNN Live video stream and right next to that your Facebook status updates. This gives viewers who are Facebook members the ability to chat with each other while watching the event. Very cool.

One of the issues facing online news services and social network sites will be capacity. Not only is this an historic day for the United States, it will also be an historic day for online media. There will be more people online, active at the same time, than there probably ever has been.

I would get online early because the closer it gets to the event time the harder it will be to get a feed.

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Props To My Peeps: Darin Berntson And Melissa Ruth

This week I have to give two shout outs. The first one is to Darin Berntson, on Twitter and other places known as Doc, and the other is to Melissa Ruth.

I've gotten to know Darin over the past few weeks, and I really appreciate all the issues he has tried to resolve for me. For one, he came up with a Props To My Peeps logo (which you can see in this post). He has also been able to help me with a few other projects, for which I am grateful. Take a few minutes to learn more about Darin.

Next I wanted to give a shout out to Melissa Ruth. Melissa has helped me with more than one project over the past few weeks. She has always been go to check in on me and make sure I didn't need anything, and quick to help me out when it seems I have a problem.

Melissa is also looking for a job. She has a pretty strong business background. If you can help Melissa out with a potential job, she would be eternally grateful, as would I. You can find out more about Melissa on Twitter too.

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Well The Sabatical Didn't Last Too Long

@JesseStay said I would be back. And he's right. But it wasn't the reason I thought I would be back. So I'm posting on this blog again. Thanks to everyone who gave me some new things to try.

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