This is a list of web sites and products mentioned during Roald Marth’s presentation at Dynatek’s 14th Annual User Conference at VisTaTech Center in Livonia, MI:
- Dynatek - Thank you to Dynatek for inviting Ro to speak.
- Apple - iTunes - The most popular free audio syndication site today.
- Skype - Talk for free to anyone in the USA & Canada. Free worldwide Skype to Skype calls.
- MySpace - The extremely popular social networking site. Have you joined yet?
- Palm - Ro recommends the Treo 700p.
- WhereToLive.com - Roald’s Day Job
- Technology Evangelist - The blog. Subscribe to keep up to date on technology.
- Bloglines - Our preferred feed reader. Create a Bloglines account, then subscribe to Technology Evangelist here.
- Google - Our preferred search engine.
- Sony - Ro recommends the SZ series laptops.
- YouTube - The popular online video site.
- Zillow - Check your home’s value here.
- Real Estate ABC - Or here.
- Kodak 570 - Ro’s favorite digital camera.
- Flickr - Popular photo sharing site.
- Firefox - A great alternative to Internet Explorer.
The following is a list of current technology stories that I find interesting but haven’t had a chance to write about yet. If you happen to be familiar with any of the concepts listed below and would like to contribute some thoughts on your experiences, please contact me using the options listed on my bio page or post a comment in the comments field below.
- Skype for Business. Have you started using Skype as a communication channel in your business? How has it changed your business?
- MySpace for Business. Have you created a MySpace page for your business? Is it generating any business for you?
- Treo vs. Blackberry. Has your business flip-flopped between Treo phones and Blackberries? If so, why?
- Public WiFi Initiatives. Are you involved in the planning, advocacy for (or against), or execution of public WiFi systems? What challenges are you facing? What have you learned that would benefit other communities to hear about?
- RSS Beyond Blogging. Are you using syndicated content as a marketing tool for your business? How has this changed your business?
- Web Based Office Applications. Have you or your business moved away from Microsoft Office to online office applications like Writely? How has this changed your business?
- Gmail for Business. Has your business switched to using Gmail for Business? If so, what challenges did you face in the migration, and how has it changed your business?
- Ning. Have you built a web application using Ning? Why did you choose to use Ning, and what have you learned from building it?
- Flock. Do you use the Flock web browser? If so, what has made Flock a valuable browser for you surfing needs?
- Canceling Cable. Have you canceled your cable subscription in exchange for web based video content? If so, what factors motivated your decision? What online content motivated the change? Which applications are you using to aggregate online video content?
I have some familiarity with all of the above story ideas & businesses, but would love to hear about your experiences in order to write better stories for everyone else reading this site. Share what you can. Let’s learn from each other. Also, if you can think of some important stories that I should be covering, feel free to send a quick email explaining what and why.
Our next interview in ‘The Innovators’ series is with Mr. Frank Gruber. Frank is a hardcore blogger who gives us some fantastic tips on everything from how to start a blog, as well as how to monetize, advertise and get detailed tracking on all of the stats for your blog. If you’re looking for further information on setting up a blog from Frank, check out his PDF, "Steps to Getting Started In the Blogosphere - Part 1: Setting up a blog".
After earning his Undergraduate Degree in Computer Information Systems from Purdue University Frank worked as a consultant at several Fortune 500 companies for Technology Services Group. In 2002 he moved to Tribune Interactive, and during that time with Tribune Company Frank received a Master’s Degree in Computer Information Systems from Northwestern University. Currently Frank is the Product Manager for Classified Ventures’ Apartments.com, where he focuses on strategy for their consumer website, while pursuing a Master’s Degree in Business Administration.
The first thing you’ll notice that is different about this interview from our previous interview with Derek Franklin is that it is shot in a bar. You will also note the different style of interview. We have been experimenting and thought it would be fun to do a more relaxed setting. As you will see, the problem with this is that the audio becomes very complex, so it may be a bit hard to hear at times. Fear not faithful viewers — we are working on getting different audio gear that will help alleviate this problem in the future, as well as some better video gear. Hey, we’re still borrowing equipment, so we can’t complain too much…
In addition to our normal RSS feeds, we have also made our torrent feed available for users of Democracy Player, which should help decrease the amount of download time, as well as take some bandwidth strain off of our servers.
If you would like to try our QuickTime full-screen 480p beta, you may do so by clicking here. Please let me know of any bugs or problems you encounter, such as QuickTime crashing, not able to pause the video, not able to exit full screen, etc. Please remember that this is a beta and may not work as intended. I should also point out that there is no ‘loading’ screen on this demo, so your screen may go black as it tries to pull down the 2Mbps video stream… just be patient, it’s loading… you may have to be very patient, actually.
My wife likes to kid me about how many people I claim to know, but haven’t actually physically met. These are people I’ve met through online forums or engaged in conversations on this or other blogs. Occasionally, while hanging out with my wife, I’ve let out a random chuckle, causing her to question my spontaneous laughter. She tends to look at me like I’m crazy when I explain to her that I was laughing about something a friend posted about in an online forum or blog.
She calls these people my “online friends” and seems skeptical of these types of relationships. She is an avid web user, but doesn’t have — or particularly want to have — a network of “online friends.”
I made my first “online friends” on a cross country skiing discussion group in the mid-90’s called rec.skiing.nordic. I was racing in college at the time for the University of Alaska, Fairbanks, so discussion groups like this were a great way to keep up to date on the nordic skiing scene in other areas of the country or world. Over time, I came to “know” regular contributors to the forum both through reading their public posts and through e-mail conversations. Occasionally, I’d get a chance to meet contributors to the forum “live in person” and get a chance to put a face with a name.
I’ve made many more “online friends” over the past decade through forums, discussion groups and blogs that I find interesting. And I’ve had more chances to actually meet new “online friends,” thus turning them into just . . . friends. One of those chances came over the past two days while road tripping through the Midwest with two other members of the Technology Evangelist team, Ro and Ben.
We had a chance to meet Derek Franklin in Bloomington, Indiana yesterday while in town for a real estate technology presentation. Derek is the author of a series of books on Macromedia Flash, creator of SearchAutomator Pro and founder of the recently launched WhoNu.com. We shot an interview with Derek in HD this morning, but forgot to take even a single picture with him, but I can assure you he is a very smart, innovating guy who looks like this:
Derek Franklin
Later in the day, we met up with Frank Gruber of SomeWhatFrank.com (and BallParkFrank.com) to talk about technology that mutually interests us over a couple beers at a Chicago sports bar. We covered the evolution of his own blog, tips on how to start a blog, SplogReporter.com, and his latest creation, TeamSportsBars.com, a national registry of which sports bars are affiliated with which sports teams. Does your town have a bar where loyal sports fans gather? If so, share your knowledge on Team Sports Bar.
Ben Higginbotham, Roald Marth, Frank Gruber, Ed Kohler
Our interview with Frank will be available soon on Technology Evangelist in HD as well.
Did meeting Derek and Frank face-to-face change my relationship with them? Yes. I already knew they were smart, shared common interests in technology and could organize their thoughts on their blogs. But actually sitting down for a conversation added a level of humor and deeper meaning to their comments than can be achieved through text blogging, e-mails or phone calls alone. Having face-to-face experience with them will change how I read their blogs, allowing me to pick up more humor and meaning in their written words.
We hope our HD video interviews with Derek and Frank will help you get to know our two new, innovating friends!
Written from the back seat of Ben’s car while leaving Chicago and published using a Sprint PCS card.
My wife likes to kid me about how many people I claim to know, but haven’t actually physically met. These are people I’ve met through online forums or engaged in conversations on this or other blogs. Occasionally, while hanging out with my wife, I’ve let out a random chuckle, causing her to question my spontaneous laughter. She tends to look at me like I’m crazy when I explain to her that I was laughing about something a friend posted about in an online forum or blog.
She calls these people my “online friends” and seems skeptical of these types of relationships. She is an avid web user, but doesn’t have — or particularly want to have — a network of “online friends.”
I made my first “online friends” on a cross country skiing discussion group in the mid-90’s called rec.skiing.nordic. I was racing in college at the time for the University of Alaska, Fairbanks, so discussion groups like this were a great way to keep up to date on the nordic skiing scene in other areas of the country or world. Over time, I came to “know” regular contributors to the forum both through reading their public posts and through e-mail conversations. Occasionally, I’d get a chance to meet contributors to the forum “live in person” and get a chance to put a face with a name.
I’ve made many more “online friends” over the past decade through forums, discussion groups and blogs that I find interesting. And I’ve had more chances to actually meet new “online friends,” thus turning them into just . . . friends. One of those chances came over the past two days while road tripping through the Midwest with two other members of the Technology Evangelist team, Ro and Ben.
We had a chance to meet Derek Franklin in Bloomington, Indiana yesterday while in town for a real estate technology presentation. Derek is the author of a series of books on Macromedia Flash, creator of SearchAutomator Pro and founder of the recently launched WhoNu.com. We shot an interview with Derek in HD this morning, but forgot to take even a single picture with him, but I can assure you he is a very smart, innovating guy who looks like this:
Derek Franklin
Later in the day, we met up with Frank Gruber of SomeWhatFrank.com (and BallParkFrank.com) to talk about technology that mutually interests us over a couple beers at a Chicago sports bar. We covered the evolution of his own blog, tips on how to start a blog, SplogReporter.com, and his latest creation, TeamSportsBars.com, a national registry of which sports bars are affiliated with which sports teams. Does your town have a bar where loyal sports fans gather? If so, share your knowledge on Team Sports Bar.
Ben Higginbotham, Roald Marth, Frank Gruber, Ed Kohler
Our interview with Frank will be available soon on Technology Evangelist in HD as well.
Did meeting Derek and Frank face-to-face change my relationship with them? Yes. I already knew they were smart, shared common interests in technology and could organize their thoughts on their blogs. But actually sitting down for a conversation added a level of humor and deeper meaning to their comments than can be achieved through text blogging, e-mails or phone calls alone. Having face-to-face experience with them will change how I read their blogs, allowing me to pick up more humor and meaning in their written words.
We hope our HD video interviews with Derek and Frank will help you get to know our two new, innovating friends!
Written from the back seat of Ben’s car while leaving Chicago and published using a Sprint PCS card.
My wife likes to kid me about how many people I claim to know, but haven’t actually physically met. These are people I’ve met through online forums or engaged in conversations on this or other blogs. Occasionally, while hanging out with my wife, I’ve let out a random chuckle, causing her to question my spontaneous laughter. She tends to look at me like I’m crazy when I explain to her that I was laughing about something a friend posted about in an online forum or blog.
She calls these people my “online friends” and seems skeptical of these types of relationships. She is an avid web user, but doesn’t have — or particularly want to have — a network of “online friends.”
I made my first “online friends” on a cross country skiing discussion group in the mid-90’s called rec.skiing.nordic. I was racing in college at the time for the University of Alaska, Fairbanks, so discussion groups like this were a great way to keep up to date on the nordic skiing scene in other areas of the country or world. Over time, I came to “know” regular contributors to the forum both through reading their public posts and through e-mail conversations. Occasionally, I’d get a chance to meet contributors to the forum “live in person” and get a chance to put a face with a name.
I’ve made many more “online friends” over the past decade through forums, discussion groups and blogs that I find interesting. And I’ve had more chances to actually meet new “online friends,” thus turning them into just . . . friends. One of those chances came over the past two days while road tripping through the Midwest with two other members of the Technology Evangelist team, Ro and Ben.
We had a chance to meet Derek Franklin in Bloomington, Indiana yesterday while in town for a real estate technology presentation. Derek is the author of a series of books on Macromedia Flash, creator of SearchAutomator Pro and founder of the recently launched WhoNu.com. We shot an interview with Derek in HD this morning, but forgot to take even a single picture with him, but I can assure you he is a very smart, innovating guy who looks like this:
Derek Franklin
Later in the day, we met up with Frank Gruber of SomeWhatFrank.com (and BallParkFrank.com) to talk about technology that mutually interests us over a couple beers at a Chicago sports bar. We covered the evolution of his own blog, tips on how to start a blog, SplogReporter.com, and his latest creation, TeamSportsBars.com, a national registry of which sports bars are affiliated with which sports teams. Does your town have a bar where loyal sports fans gather? If so, share your knowledge on Team Sports Bar.
Ben Higginbotham, Roald Marth, Frank Gruber, Ed Kohler
Our interview with Frank will be available soon on Technology Evangelist in HD as well.
Did meeting Derek and Frank face-to-face change my relationship with them? Yes. I already knew they were smart, shared common interests in technology and could organize their thoughts on their blogs. But actually sitting down for a conversation added a level of humor and deeper meaning to their comments than can be achieved through text blogging, e-mails or phone calls alone. Having face-to-face experience with them will change how I read their blogs, allowing me to pick up more humor and meaning in their written words.
We hope our HD video interviews with Derek and Frank will help you get to know our two new, innovating friends!
Written from the back seat of Ben’s car while leaving Chicago and published using a Sprint PCS card.
What would your response be if I asked you for the following:
- Name
- Username
- Password
- Email Address
- Phone Number
- Your Friend’s Email Addresses
- Who you have a crush on
- Regular updates on where you go to eat & drink
Am I the least discrete stalker on Earth? I think that depends on what I plan on doing with your data. One company you may have heard of ?¬¢√᬴¬Æ√á∆ÃÀô Google ?¬¢√᬴¬Æ√á∆ÃÀô is asking users for this information under the brand Dodgeball.com. What are they doing with that information?
Dodgeball.com - as they describe it ?¬¢√᬴¬Æ√á∆ÃÀô is “mobile social software.” The site is designed to build social networks based on popular bar and restaurant locations. The site allows you and your network of Dodgeball friends to update each other on what bars and restaurants you’re at using short text messages from your cell phone. Started in New York City, the service it is currently rolled out in twenty two cities in the United States. The company was acquired by Google in May 2005.
Here is how it works:
A person registers with Dodgeball.com, then sends a text message from their cell phone to verify their phone number. Once that’s done, Dodgeball users simply send a quick text message to Dodgeball from restaurants and bars they visit. Here is a photo of my most recent SMS message to twincites@dodgeball.com from my Treo 600 phone:
Notice the most recent SMS message is for the Chatterbox Pub. That message was a “Check-In” and earned me a spot on the Twincities.Dodgeball.com homepage:
But Dodgeball did more than simply display my mug on their homepage. They also broadcast a text message to all of my friends in my Dodgeball network, telling them where I was.
Had any of my friends been within 10 blocks of my location, I would have received a text back from Dodgeball with their locations. It also has a dating feature that tells your “crushes” when you’re nearby.
What makes this useful?
It’s a fun way to give techie shout outs to friends.
It’s faster and easier than calling your friends to organize a night out.
It’s a great way to discover new restaurants and bars. For example, I’ve never met Aaron L., pictured to my left on the check-in image. While using dodgeball.com, I’ve figured out that we have similar tastes in restaurants and bars, which enticed me to try the Chatterbox Pub last night. I’ll definitely be going back, and I may even meet Aaron there some day.
What does Dodgeball gain?
While the business model is not clear today, but they?¢Ç«®Ç—¢re clearly building a network that?¢Ç«®Ç—¢s attractive to advertisers. The opportunities for local and personalized advertising are tremendous given the detail of data provides by participants in the Dodgeball network.
While text messages are limited to 160 characters, they should have space to add, ?¢Ç«®?ÏTry Bombay Sapphire?¢Ç«®¨˘ to texts sent to people on their way to restaurants or bars. In fact, they could customize the ads based on the type of establishments people are visiting. A gin & tonic may not be the most appealing ad may be a better ad for chicken wing lovers.
Or target the ads to specific locations: How about a Leinenkeugel?¢Ç«®Ç—¢s Honeyweiss ad targeting Maxwell?¢Ç«®Ç—¢s customers with an offer for a free appetizer if they tell their waitress a code word? (example: Join your friend Ed at Maxwell’s [12th & Washington] and receive a FREE APPETIZER for saying ?¢Ç«®?ÏDominick the Donkey” to the server.)
Online to Offline Conversions: What will Google do with this data? What happens when people use the same email address for Dodgeball and personalized search on Google. Could Google track online ad performance based on offline restaurant and bar visits by Dodgeball members?
If the idea of publishing your dining patterns on a public web site freaks you out, this probably isn’t the site for you. But, if you are a social buterfly who likes hooking up with friends all over town at fun spots, Dodgeball may be worth trying.
What would your response be if I asked you for the following:
- Name
- Username
- Password
- Email Address
- Phone Number
- Your Friend’s Email Addresses
- Who you have a crush on
- Regular updates on where you go to eat & drink
Am I the least discrete stalker on Earth? I think that depends on what I plan on doing with your data. One company you may have heard of ?¢‚Ǩ‚Äú Google ?¢‚Ǩ‚Äú is asking users for this information under the brand Dodgeball.com. What are they doing with that information?
Dodgeball.com - as they describe it ?¢‚Ǩ‚Äú is “mobile social software.” The site is designed to build social networks based on popular bar and restaurant locations. The site allows you and your network of Dodgeball friends to update each other on what bars and restaurants you’re at using short text messages from your cell phone. Started in New York City, the service it is currently rolled out in twenty two cities in the United States. The company was acquired by Google in May 2005.
Here is how it works:
A person registers with Dodgeball.com, then sends a text message from their cell phone to verify their phone number. Once that’s done, Dodgeball users simply send a quick text message to Dodgeball from restaurants and bars they visit. Here is a photo of my most recent SMS message to twincites@dodgeball.com from my Treo 600 phone:
Notice the most recent SMS message is for the Chatterbox Pub. That message was a “Check-In” and earned me a spot on the Twincities.Dodgeball.com homepage:
But Dodgeball did more than simply display my mug on their homepage. They also broadcast a text message to all of my friends in my Dodgeball network, telling them where I was.
Had any of my friends been within 10 blocks of my location, I would have received a text back from Dodgeball with their locations. It also has a dating feature that tells your “crushes” when you’re nearby.
What makes this useful?
It’s a fun way to give techie shout outs to friends.
It’s faster and easier than calling your friends to organize a night out.
It’s a great way to discover new restaurants and bars. For example, I’ve never met Aaron L., pictured to my left on the check-in image. While using dodgeball.com, I’ve figured out that we have similar tastes in restaurants and bars, which enticed me to try the Chatterbox Pub last night. I’ll definitely be going back, and I may even meet Aaron there some day.
What does Dodgeball gain?
While the business model is not clear today, but they?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢re clearly building a network that?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s attractive to advertisers. The opportunities for local and personalized advertising are tremendous given the detail of data provides by participants in the Dodgeball network.
While text messages are limited to 160 characters, they should have space to add, ?¢‚Ǩ?ìTry Bombay Sapphire?¢‚Ǩ¬ù to texts sent to people on their way to restaurants or bars. In fact, they could customize the ads based on the type of establishments people are visiting. A gin & tonic may not be the most appealing ad may be a better ad for chicken wing lovers.
Or target the ads to specific locations: How about a Leinenkeugel?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s Honeyweiss ad targeting Maxwell?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s customers with an offer for a free appetizer if they tell their waitress a code word? (example: Join your friend Ed at Maxwell’s [12th & Washington] and receive a FREE APPETIZER for saying ?¢‚Ǩ?ìDominick the Donkey” to the server.)
Online to Offline Conversions: What will Google do with this data? What happens when people use the same email address for Dodgeball and personalized search on Google. Could Google track online ad performance based on offline restaurant and bar visits by Dodgeball members?
If the idea of publishing your dining patterns on a public web site freaks you out, this probably isn’t the site for you. But, if you are a social buterfly who likes hooking up with friends all over town at fun spots, Dodgeball may be worth trying.
What would your response be if I asked you for the following:
- Name
- Username
- Password
- Email Address
- Phone Number
- Your Friend’s Email Addresses
- Who you have a crush on
- Regular updates on where you go to eat & drink
Am I the least discrete stalker on Earth? I think that depends on what I plan on doing with your data. One company you may have heard of ?¢‚Ǩ‚Äú Google ?¢‚Ǩ‚Äú is asking users for this information under the brand Dodgeball.com. What are they doing with that information?
Dodgeball.com - as they describe it ?¢‚Ǩ‚Äú is “mobile social software.” The site is designed to build social networks based on popular bar and restaurant locations. The site allows you and your network of Dodgeball friends to update each other on what bars and restaurants you’re at using short text messages from your cell phone. Started in New York City, the service it is currently rolled out in twenty two cities in the United States. The company was acquired by Google in May 2005.
Here is how it works:
A person registers with Dodgeball.com, then sends a text message from their cell phone to verify their phone number. Once that’s done, Dodgeball users simply send a quick text message to Dodgeball from restaurants and bars they visit. Here is a photo of my most recent SMS message to twincites@dodgeball.com from my Treo 600 phone:
Notice the most recent SMS message is for the Chatterbox Pub. That message was a “Check-In” and earned me a spot on the Twincities.Dodgeball.com homepage:
But Dodgeball did more than simply display my mug on their homepage. They also broadcast a text message to all of my friends in my Dodgeball network, telling them where I was.
Had any of my friends been within 10 blocks of my location, I would have received a text back from Dodgeball with their locations. It also has a dating feature that tells your “crushes” when you’re nearby.
What makes this useful?
It’s a fun way to give techie shout outs to friends.
It’s faster and easier than calling your friends to organize a night out.
It’s a great way to discover new restaurants and bars. For example, I’ve never met Aaron L., pictured to my left on the check-in image. While using dodgeball.com, I’ve figured out that we have similar tastes in restaurants and bars, which enticed me to try the Chatterbox Pub last night. I’ll definitely be going back, and I may even meet Aaron there some day.
What does Dodgeball gain?
While the business model is not clear today, but they?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢re clearly building a network that?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s attractive to advertisers. The opportunities for local and personalized advertising are tremendous given the detail of data provides by participants in the Dodgeball network.
While text messages are limited to 160 characters, they should have space to add, ?¢‚Ǩ?ìTry Bombay Sapphire?¢‚Ǩ¬ù to texts sent to people on their way to restaurants or bars. In fact, they could customize the ads based on the type of establishments people are visiting. A gin & tonic may not be the most appealing ad may be a better ad for chicken wing lovers.
Or target the ads to specific locations: How about a Leinenkeugel?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s Honeyweiss ad targeting Maxwell?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s customers with an offer for a free appetizer if they tell their waitress a code word? (example: Join your friend Ed at Maxwell’s [12th & Washington] and receive a FREE APPETIZER for saying ?¢‚Ǩ?ìDominick the Donkey” to the server.)
Online to Offline Conversions: What will Google do with this data? What happens when people use the same email address for Dodgeball and personalized search on Google. Could Google track online ad performance based on offline restaurant and bar visits by Dodgeball members?
If the idea of publishing your dining patterns on a public web site freaks you out, this probably isn’t the site for you. But, if you are a social buterfly who likes hooking up with friends all over town at fun spots, Dodgeball may be worth trying.
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