Thursday, May 31, 2007

Mahalo what?

I have a lot of respect for Jason Calcanis - he sold Weblogs for a ton of money, is a smart, driven entrepreneur and actually quite a nice person, too. But getting into user-driven search might not have been the smartest idea on earth. Google has improved their search results in the last few months using my personal history and I see absolutely nothing wrong with it. And then there's yahoo's hidden gem delicious which in my humble opinion is getting to be a real alternative to classic search - as long as you're not looking for a cheap flat-screen TV or flight to Paris.
Best of luck to Jason - but Search might not be the best place to apply his editorial expertise...

New google street view

Absolutely unbelievable - what Amazon tried a few years ago Google has now nailed - you can check out exactly what each building (at least in NYC) looks like. Here's an example of one of my favorite restaurants: Blue Ribbon Bakery.
Privacy is definitely a concern here but so is the amazing evolution of what used to be simple maps. One day they might feed all this live from yet to come surveillance/CCTV cameras a la London... Don't hold your breath!

Monday, May 21, 2007

Interactive Podcasting - what's that all about?



Sounds like good old web conferencing with only audio to me. Curious how this is going to be different from real webex. But listening to Seth Godin is always fun so I recommend this 6/6/07 event to anyone interested in Marketing.

Saturday, May 19, 2007

No need to starve anymore - find fastfood faster

Great google mashup - find fastfood with this cool mashup (here's the Manhattan example). Too bad they don't have "good fast" places like Chipotle on there yet and there's no InnOut east of the Rockies - but I remain hopeful!

In the meantime I highly recommend Gin Lane for a really good meal in the meatpacking district - go for brunch or dinner and enjoy the classic english/new england gentleman's club atmosphere.

And if you're in the mood for a drink afterwards - find a happy hour quickly with Mappy Hour or another fave - Myopenbar!

Thursday, May 17, 2007

Finally a great, useful outlook plugin


Recently I downloaded the linkedin toolbar, not expecting too much of it except for the ability to search contacts right from my inbox. But now I discovered something I'd been looking for for years: the "grab" function! to some of you this might be old news but this is the enhanced version of the good ole business card scanner. This is how it works:
1) Select an address block (needs to be text) in an email in your outlook inbox
2) Hit the "grab" button
3) Review the newly created contact, add categories and save it.

Huge time saver, good accuracy - love it!

Wednesday, May 16, 2007

Cellfish.com is great

Cellfish is really cool - it's a new mobile platform that has all these functionalities:

Why Cellfish rocks



All media
• Common media formats
• MP3’s, videos, pics


All carriers
• All major US carriers
• Even between carriers


All phones

• Compatible with most current handsets


Watch YouTube and other videos on your phone
• Enter a video URL – Cellfish converts it
• YouTube, MySpace, DailyMotion, etc.


Convert your favorite music to ringtones
• Turn your MP3’s into ringtones
• Get them on your phone


Free online locker
• Unlimited online storage
• Easy uploading


Download to your phone
• Log in to your locker from your phone
• Download your media


Easy sharing
• Enter a friend’s cell number or email
• Cellfish sends them the media



Free page
• Personalize, publish and share


Keep in touch
• Subscribe to friends’ pages
• Get all their videos and pics on your phone


Get podcasts and videocasts on your phone
• Subscribe to another user's media
• Listen or watch it on the go


Free and exclusive content for your phone
• Hot ringtones, wallpapers, videos, and games
• Premium or free – you decide


Check it out yourself here!

My Personal DNA

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