DD:6 Sweat! (and 1Password Love)

Bridget Jones’s Update of Day 6: BMI: 25. 25.3(+/- 0) Ok, no change. Fine Activity Level: Sweat! Used the EA Sports Active burning 200+ calories. I really like the inline skating though I think I stink at it. Meditation: Does lying in bed count?Brief Observations: Things are fitting better. I also got rid of a rash under my wedding & engagement rings that has been plaguing me for a while. It was there, and now it’s gone. Also I would think by now I would be … um… eliminating more (total TMI, but I said I’d be honest.) Not less. Next stop: Castor Oil.

I finally worked in a good 1/2 hour of sweat. 200 calories gone. BAM!

Using EA Sports Active, I went through various exercises with my trainer Joy (I had to name her something, and she’s so damn perky!) I joined the 30-day workout challenge. So Day 1: Kickbacks, running, inline skating(which is basically squat/jumps,) tricep curls, etc.) It went by fast and I was sweating so Mission Accomplished!  Now this was the weekend, and my husband was running interference with the little ones. The big test will be this during the work-week. No time. Either early AM or late PM. Ugh. Tomorrow: EA Sports Active and Power Yoga. Wish me luck, the last time I did Yoga was 10+ years ago, in LA while I was doing Pilates and had the ass of death.

Now I’d like to talk about something different — a delightful piece of technology I’ve just encountered. It has made my life so much easier and my personal & financial information so much safer I had to share.  No, it’s not Lifelock. Seriously, if Courtney Love is your products main unpaid spokesperson, Dear-God, you’ve got a problem. Plus it’s reactive, not proactive. And I say, if you can stop a problem before it IS a problem– do it. Plus again, it’s really easy to use.

So, here is my completely unsolicited plug for 1Password.  I live by the Code. Passcode that is. I’m a Tech-Babe. I live, breath, shop, invest, read, blog, work on the Web. I also need codes &  passwords. The hubby, a CTO (aka super-tech God,) started using 1Password and, a few days later, installed it on my Mac. After really brief tutorial by him, I was using it. What 1Password does is generates, keeps your passwords, as well as any secure information you have (passport numbers, lockbox codes, secret Swiss and Bahamian bank accounts.) All you need to remember is one password for 1Password. Simple. Easy. Works for me.

Now, the concept of a secure password vault is nothing new, but what 1Password does BETTER than anyone is, while you’re shopping online, is convenience.  You go to the sites you want, and with one-button convenience, 1Password logs you in or adds new logins when you access new sites. So If you’re shopping, say at Amazon, you hit “1P” button on your browser tool bar and select “Login with Amazon” and you’re done and in. If you’re signing up for a new site, you can select the “Strong Password Generator,” and it will come up with, fill and store your new very secure password. It works for online investment houses, insurance companies, anything you may need a password for. It also has an iPhone App which is really handy if you need to buy  online or need your personal codes/info for anything.

Look, most of us have a few semi-clever passwords for everything. What 1Password does is generate extrememly secure 8-15 letter/digit nonsensical passwords (for example: falefjdsifjaoeihte) for your Hanna Anderson site. And a different one for Netflix. And Fidelity. Etc. Etc. Etc. Now I only need to remember one very clever password. Sweet.

Links to Items Featured on TheLiquidBetsy:

1Password

caption id=”attachment_1353″ align=”alignnone” width=”147″ caption=”1Password”] [/caption]

Sugar Coated & Yummy (Ear) Candy

"Drop Me a Lime"- Acid Green and all mine.

One day I had my bluetooth earpiece.

The next… it was gone.

It was black. Sleek. Sexy. Just like every other black bluetooth earpiece in existence. Hard to find in the bottom of a bag, it was tiny, and indistinguishable from everybody else’s. I probably left it on a Boston T car, … or was when I had drinks at the Four Seasons? At the Common’s playground with Katie and Suri? Perhaps when Baby Lug snatch it from my blond tresses? Or was it buried in the dark recesses of my car?  All a safe bet. I’m a busy, busy girl. But at the end of the day, still no earpiece.

I live for my bluetooth. Or more like it, without it my life is decidedly harder and more painful to pull off.

So what was a fabulous TheBetsy to do?

One word. Color.

Enter The Jawbone Prime JBT02 Bluetooth Headset .

Specifically the Ear Candy Edition, in the fetching “Drop Me a Lime.”

Just like the photo above. Distinctive. Better yet, (for me) easier to spot. Harder to lose. Plus it comes with the famous Jawbone “Noise Assassin.”  (ohhhhh yeah baybeee,  I didn’t know what that was but I knew I had to get me some Noise Assassin!)

At around $129 it’s not cheap. But neither is losing one more damn mobile headset. You see, TheBetsy is both Thrifty AND Fabulous.

Here is a nice close up of one called “Frankly Scarlet Red:”

So I order. I get. The most incredible package. Ever.

You know how Apple does great design? My first impression of my new Jawbone is great packaging. I am delighted before I’ve even tried the headset.

A little story… when I was in Japan, I was told, upon seeing a insanely intricately designed sushi and sashimi platter, “we eat with our eyes first.”  Well, in that vein the Jawbone Ear Candy packaging was nothing short of a feast. I’d recommend buying it just for that if you have anything do with consumer products (for research purposes of course.) That box was a layer upon layer of joyful cool and intuitive unfolding. Brilliant marketing tactic, and something Jawbone (and Apple) just plain get.

Then the instructions. Whoa. This baby does a lot. This is what I know for sure:

• Custom Fit- with 2 styles and 6 different sizes of earbuds, plus 2 ear loops I knew I had a really good chance of a solid fit.
• Sleek design- must say, sweet design. As the Jawbone people say, “If it’s not beautiful, it doesn’t belong on your face.” I wouldn’t say it’s like a piece of jewelry you’re going to want to wear all the time, but it is a much more stylish alternative to plain black.
• Functionality- besides on/off you can redial last number called, initiate voice dial, change volume during a call, reject & answer calls and of course the deadly-sounding NoiseAssassin.

TheBetsy Sums It All Up:

I’ve already lost it. Not just once… but twice.

And found… twice.

The last time a friend found it on the floor. At a restaurant we just had lunch at. And KNEW it was mine. In that respect it’s worth every penny (vs. buying two more.)  So distinctive, the green has proven easy to find, even in the bottom of a black handbag. Worth even a few compliments. Don’t get me wrong, this Jawbone is still not an “fashion accessory” per se.

As for all the functionality, and even the Noise Assassin, frankly I really don’t use it all or even appreciate it. For me, a headset with one-touch answer & disconnect and crisp clear audio, makes me giddy happy. Which the Jawbone Prime JBT02 Bluetooth Headset Ear Candy does beautifully. The only issue I’ve had is in the fit. To be entirely honest this may be due to the fact I really busy: I have small kids, tend to carry a lot of crap, and I move around a lot. Thus I opted to have both the ear bud and the ear loop for extra security. So if I have any issues it’s usually a combo of some grabby kid or  caught hair (I have a lot) and sunglasses.

Cut to the chase sister, is it worth the coin?

Only you can decide. Have you lost your mobile headset? Or just not into basic black and like the idea of fantastical colors like “Lilac You Mean it”  or “‘Yello!”?  Do you really work your headset… I mean do you make Ari Gold look like he’s still in the mailroom? Then yes, you ‘d probably love it.

Personally I feel guilty not using all the features but thankful that I didn’t have to buy a new headset again. So given a do-over, I’d totally buy it again.

Brutal Baby- The Teenage Media Consumer

Veruca Salt, original brutal baby from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory 1971

You in media?

Social Media, Media Products, Newspapers, TV, Cable, Mobile Phones, Computers, Gaming?

You want to meet your customer? Really meet them?

Say hello to Matthew Robson, the 15 year old “analyst” from Morgan Stanley (UK.) His recent piece “How Teenagers Consume Media” is causing a sensation, even being featured the front page of the Financial Times. He and his mates are your customer now and for the the next 20 years. Socio-econo-techn0-politically developed and served fresh. He’s being shaped by our recent past, present and future. He’s preferences will shape our world as he (and his pals) buy & consume, create and creatively destroy.

By just writing this sensational piece he’s probably already changed the future media landscape.

Out of the mouths of babes, the truth. Brutual. Beautiful. Honest. Complete with Oompa-Loompas lyrical commentary.

What are you going to do with it?

I just because I love this- Veruca Salt’s demise in 1971’s Chocolate Factory. Brutal Baby. Brutal. But perfect.

FLIP it baby, FLIP it REAL good.

The Sexy Little FLIP MinoHD Camcorder

Warning: Technology has struck again.

This is going to be quick, because I’m trying to train myself to be brief. And you probably have something else to do: RSS feed, emails, TV, Pilates, competitive disco dancing. You know, the usual.

So my husband brought home a FLIP MinoHD Camcorder home.

We have kids, and the hubby was, at one time, almost semi-pro photographer. So we document, photographically speaking, every step, snot-bubble and goofy grin from the “Wild Bunch,” as my progeny has been nicknamed.

We have kids, so that’s also why we’re on our 4th camera and 3rd video camera. They drop, they get used. They get left. On a bus. (OK the last one is not really true but it has almost happen an ungodly amount of times I feel I can at least include it.) Mostly they stop working for us, metaphorically speaking.

Too big, too small, too complicated, too cumbersome…. the litany of why goes on and on.

Enter the Flip MinoHD.

Pros: Slim and lightweight (3.3 oz,) Easy (One touch recording & digital zoom a true Idiot’s Delight,) Nifty (Flip-out USB arm plugs directly in computer, launches built-in FlipShare software)

Cons: We only bought one (so this one totally mine, hubby can borrow.)

First off, I am not being reimbursed, paid or sponsored (via cash or swag) by FLIP for this love letter of a review. I just like it and if fitted the “Good is Good” mantra of TheBetsy.

So if I’ve been too subtle up to this point, let me say I love this little tasty piece of high-def technology. Smaller than an iPhone it fits in one my pocketbook (the big and little ones)– and though it only takes 60 mins that really is plenty for me and the myriad of parties, events, holidays that I usually film anyway. For business this is great for quick interviews (yes, I have one in the works for TheLiquidBetsy) and if you are at all a person in the visual arts (photo/design) this is a MUST or if have a project that you might need to want to take quick visuals for (decorating, marketing, etc.) What I like most about it is that it is with me. All the time. At the ready. And at $192 (at Amazon.com)  it is inexpensive enough to make it worthwhile.

On an interesting business note, FLIP was purchased by CISCO- for $590 Million. Bandwidth. Bandwidth. Bandwidth. But that’s another story folks.

This might even make one of my top 50.

And because I know the title made you hum a little mad Salt ‘n’ Peppa here you go:

Taking it to the streets

TheBetsy is on the loose.

You heard me. Loose. Running free.

Which is awesome considering I’ve just spent 2 1/2 weeks home-bound with children and NON-STOP rain.

Lesser people would’ve broken. I broke about 4 days ago. A lot is said about motherhood- suffice to say I can tell you from experience your Mom is right: you ARE ungrateful, you SHOULD feel guilty. Not only did you ruin her body, but she probably was cool before she had you.

Look, if being a Mama was just a regular job, I can speak with utmost confidence, we all would have quit. A while ago.

So back to being on the loose.

I’m spending a few delicious days child-free with the hubby- the benefits of having fabulous in-laws who are absolute bonkers over their grandchildren.

Lucky, lucky girl.

So whilst I’m traipsing around the countryside I’m trying a little experiment- total iPhone blogging. No computers all must be done with “Velma,” my trusty side-kick of an iPhone 3G. (No “S” model- I don’t really need it, though the hubby is working on me, so we’ll see.)

Stay tuned readers of TheLiquidBetsy…

Read The Liquid Betsy, NOW Listen to @TheBetsy on BlogTalk Radio!

I was interviewed recently and thought I’d share the end product. Cause it’s good.

Jon Hansen, host of Blog Radio’s PI Window of Business asked me to join a panel to discuss “Has Blogging Crossed the Threshold of Legitimacy?“ I was happy to accept. What an excellent experience I had!  The panel was outstanding, the discussion was fast and furious, and our host kept the us all on time and on topic. One of the best interviews I’ve ever done or been associated with. We went over the allotted time limit. I could have chatted for a lot longer (but you knew that…)

So many thanks to my fellow panelists: the delightful Dr. Ellen Brandt, Ph.D.,  the winner in the Community Marketing’s Great Blog Off. – congrats to her for this week, she launches her new blog “Baby Boomers – The Angriest Generation”; the insightful Elizabeth Hannan, an on-line evangelist at Pragmatic Marketing whose firm focuses on leveraging the new media to elevate brand awareness; and David Bush, who as CEO of Iasta (a supply chain software company) launched probably one of the first “content marketing” blogs as the creator and editor of an industry leading blog the e-Sourcing Forum.

So here is the interview in it’s entirety for your listening enjoyment.

Just thinking…

I was driving around thinking….

In my last fabulous post I was trying to make a point that, in Social Media, the more features (or crap, depending who you are) you add doesn’t mean the more people you attract.  Facebook, who I use, has taken this approach to the nth degree (a real mathematical concept, but not equative to the “nth degree” or “n dimensions”) and lo, though they have a gazillion people,  I really wonder what the rate of change has been since day 1 after the latest release. My bet is that they might be gaining users but at a slower pace and that they are starting to see less repeat visits going on 30/60/90 days.

Am I wrong FB?  Tell me.

And, If you’re one of these people that are not returning, or stopped using them, let me know that too (and why!)

So this brings me to the “just thinking” part– could we quantify the “stickiness” (I know a totally 90’s dot-com term but I couldn’t come up with a better one) of a social media app?  I’ve tried to ask around to people that I respect and it seems that the general consensus is not really. It just clicks and sticks. Like Pet Rocks.

The 70's phenomena the Pet Rock

I refuse to believe this. I can admit this could be my Moby Dick, but there has to be the “7 +/- 2 chunks“ rule to Social Media. Given the set of people attracted, their needs and the known technological variables one can introduce (features) there must be a range of “stickiness” that can be estimated. Only so many “connections” and features that one can deal before  a site loses value to the end-user. 

Working much like the coefficent of friction, which gives an indication how slippery a surface might be (ice on steel would be close to zero,whereas rubber on pavement is over 1, more like 1.7) the higher the number would indicate how sticky or  attactive a feature or site would be. It would have to be a range as people are not black or white in choices, nor 1 or 0, but all grey matter (I know… nice joke.) Lumber jacks want and need different features from show girls, unless you’re from Monty Python.

Perhaps we test successful sites and come up with a range of success– given that set of people, this worked wildly well. Think of this phantom sticky-coeffient (“sticky-co” for short?) as a litmus test for new features and if, in testing, yours doesn’t make the successful sticky-co range, then you probably got a dud in the making.

Look even as I’m typing this I’m having second thoughts. But I sometimes like to throw things out there and, well, see if it sticks.

So go ahead, weigh-in. Collaborate. Tell me I’m on to something or not.  I can take it. Tell me you’d be interested in it if it does exists.

This is what I think about while driving.

Does Social Value = [Social + Media ( X stuff)], as X ⇒ ∞

Now Social Media is maturing, it might be entering adolescence. Growing pains are showing, limits are being found, growth stunted, slowed or exponential and not but a few incidences of acne.

Facebook just debuted it’s latest redesign and it has not exactly been a success.  I don’t know about your FB homepage but mine is starting to look like a mixed-media installation. Seems that poor FB, is trying to be to much to too many people- aspects of  Twitter, Blogging, FriendFeed, Flickr, Gaming, to name a few. The result- a wee bit of acne.

In an effort to understand this, I tried to quantify it. Hey, once a math geek, always one. So as the X (or the amount of stuff/features a social media service tries to do) goes to infinity does its value to its members go down?

Is this why Twitter is so popular? It is simplicity in itself. It’s the second-party apps that surround it, manipulating the variables, that are getting complex. The real difference is that they lie outside Twitter and are optional and only affect how the end user sees and manipulates data Twitter provides. My Twitter experience, both using and viewing it is entirely customizable. I can use Twittergrader, lessfriends, HootSuite, Tweetdeck, Twitterfriends, Tweetie, Twittelator Pro (to name a few) or not, or i can simply default to the Twitter-provided online UI. I don’t have to lose followers or any information in the process. No goofy lil’patches sent. No viral “what 80’s Rock Star are you?” quizzes clogging my in-box.

Does the real value lie in the customization that users are able to do on their own- picking and choosing from the vast array of Social Media offerings in the market place? Perhaps. Some things like UnHub actually try to organize the various sites under one navigation bar  (I have my Twitter, Blip.fm, Facebook, and delicious on one.) 

Is it when one tries to do it all, that it loses value by becoming too dense? Offering too many options? What do you think?

QUICK SHOT: Guardian on Twitter- April Fool’s or Great Freakin’ Idea?

[Note: There was some confusion. My bad. What I MEANT here was that a newspapers could go forgo print and only have a web presence and "tweet" the headlines.  Folks, even my 5 year old twins know that you can synthesize an entire story into 140 characters. But with brick and mortar costs virtually minimized (no printing and going virtual) this maybe a viable way to save a newspapers as a brand.]

Ok I was totally had.

I saw a tweet (on Twitter, natch) about The Guardian going exclusively on Twitter after 180 years in print. I was totally gonzo excited. All of a sudden it just made sense!

Papers are going by the wayside, but information isn’t. Branding that information as quality, well-written & sourced is key.

“This is HUGE” I tweeted. Only to be “@” back that it was an April Fool’s joke. Ok, that deserved a “Good Show,” as it was a seriously good prank — I’m tipping my cloche to my overseas cousins.

But after a good laugh, I had one of my epiphanies.

A newspaper going exculsively to Twitter was totally a joke. Or was it?

Some of the most amazing things happen by happenstance, blunder or folly: maple syrup (’cause no one goes “Hey, let’s just boil some tree sap” unless it’s by mistake,) Chocolate chip cookies, Coca-Cola, Rubber, implantable cardiac pacemaker and penicillin to name a few.) 

Currently, with the slow death of printable media, newspapers are folding left and right. What would happen if one just decided to stop printing and go only digital: online, Twitter and Facebook?  Could they survive?  Could they negotiate a great deal to “deliver” exclusive only to Twitter? Would this help Twitter monetize themselves as a content deliverer? Perhaps a subscription model (w/ ads?) and revenue-share with partners?

Could this work?  

And if it did, now THAT would be hysterical!

The Rebuilding of Babel

The Tower of Babel by Pieter Brueghel the Elder (1563)

The Tower of Babel is one of those famous biblical stories– too lofty we reach, position ourselves (literally and figuratively) too close to God, we’re torn down.

A little historical background: speaking one language, the city of Babel was an epicenter of commerce & culture. Only after displeasing the Almighty with the erection of the immense tower dedicated to Man’s achievement, God dispersed them across the lands, each speaking a different language. Hence the origin of our world’s differing dialects (end history lesson.)

This is a world economy. On most levels. Money speaks all languages. Achievement, for all intensive purposes, is really limited by the self. Presently language is one of the last significant gate keepers for true world commerce.

I mean, which is more desirable: Two MBA’s, same school, same ability. One speaks fluent Chinese in addition to English? Yeah, you get my drift.

Technology has gone a long to helping us blend the economies of the world– especially with the Internet. The latest communication newcomer, a phenomenon known as Twitter, impacting business, marketing, product development, PR, you name it. Twitter’s growing, and at an exponential rate–  it’s being touted as an alternative to search giant Google. I’ve personally used it for marketing, test-marketing, sourcing new businesses, and information just to name a few, and to great success.  

So you will have to believe me when I say it was like Christmas came early when the latest version of Tweetdeck was released. For those not in the know, Twitter to Tweetdeck is like Alex Rodriguez on steriods (oh, wait that’s redundant… oh, well you know what I mean.) If you “tweet” any more than just casually, you need to upgrade yourself to Tweetdeck. Trust me. One feature stands out (though there are A LOT of really great ones– a more intuitive UI for one,) is the added language translater. I’m seeing that as a real paradigm-shifter.  Users have the ability to translate johnny-on-the-spot 30+ languages- both sending and receiving.

What does this mean?  Why a paradigm-shifter?

It means we are one step closer to actually being a truly diffused world-market — especially when the average business person can easily haggle their wares in German, French, Spanish, Chinese (both traditional & simplified), Serbian, Hindi, Japanese, Vietnamese, just to name a few. 

Imagine the effect of a seamless language translator would have on a wine distributor, an import & exporter, manufactures, or creatives (PR/SM/Marketing/Design) when they can do business across the world, without necessarily hiring a translator for initial marketing purposes?

Huge. That’s what.

I know a few marketing plans that would change if they could make efficient inroads into foreign markets.  Thanks to twitter and tweetdeck, that just got a heck of a lot easier.  Of course we’re not at full Star Trek Communicator level but you can wisps of the future coming.  Next step: having a preferential language setting– so no matter what language is tweeted it would be received in YOUR preferred language. Some current issues that still need to be addressed are colloquialisms, syntax and certain words and concepts that just don’t translate readily.

Granted there are limitations: legal, medical and higher business negotiations shouldn’t be left to a simple auto-translator. But for preliminary marketing and sales, to basically get the conversation started- what a heck of a tool!

And once you get to where negotiation and legal is necessary, you can source that pretty easily. (Hello Twitter?)

So back to Babel. As the communication barriers break down, and we move toward building a truly world economy, one that even the smallest business can participate in- what does this mean? Should we be wary of building temples to our vast achievements over nature and circumstance?

Honestly don’t know.

But it sure is going to be exciting to watch it unfold.