Read My Lips, You Can Finally Hear Me

Posted on July 11, 2013 by loiswhitmanhess

Admit it, you are one of the 300 million people worldwide who have a hearing problem. And, like me, you don’t want to do a damn thing about it at this point in your life. I can live with mistaking words like cake for steak, cash for rash, or schmear for smear. I’m not about to wear hearing aids for the occasional mumble by my husband, friends, co-workers, business associates, or just about anyone I meet in the course of the day.

Leave it to digital technology, Bluetooth to be exact, to come up with a solution that allows us to hear every word and look so cool doing it. We are so lucky that this development happened at this time in our lives.

Sound World Solutions has developed a device that costs far less than hearing aids ($299.00 on Amazon) and can be easily adjusted on the spot. No more long, drawn out visits to the audiologist. According to the company:

The Sound World Solutions’ earpiece looks like a small Bluetooth phone receiver in your ear but has the flexibility of being adjustable through a smartphone app or manually. Called the CS10, the device goes through a sequence of customizing for more clarity, increases in the trebles, or more bass. The device also has presets that can be turned on and off without a smartphone.

Watch the videos below to see full explanations about hearing loss and the actual functionality of the CS10.

iPhone Lens Gets More Intimate

Posted on July 10, 2013 by loiswhitmanhess

I can’t wait to try the new zoom lens that is just being introduced for the iPhone by Olloclip. This is the same company that makes the three-in-one lens for the iPhone that combines wide-angle, macro, and fish-eye into one. It simply slides on and off.

Now Olloclip has a combo 2x telephoto and circular polarizer lens. It too just slips on and off. Tech reviewers say that while the zoom feature is not as good as dedicated digital cameras, it sure does the trick. Nothing wrong with that.

I keep my Olloclip lens in my handbag at all times, but I rarely use it. I have little interest in wide-angle, macro, or fish-eye shots. I do love zooming in on subjects, so the minute the new lens comes on the market, I will be first on line. $99.00 to get a little closer.

Hanging Out on the Corner of Oy and Vey

Posted on July 9, 2013 by loiswhitmanhess

David Steven Simon

Only my client David Steven Simon could come up with a phrase like “the corner of oy and vey.” Whether he actually coined it or not, it fits the journey he is on to produce movie and TV content for our age group. Filled with decades of Hollywood experience, he was one of the leading head writers for The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Mad About You, and Full House.

His new project is totally cutting edge and a new wild ride using CGI. David has asked me to get the word out about a 20-minute comedy short called “That’s News To Me.” It stars funny lady Caroline Rhea and funny man Jay Potter. The short features refugees from the worlds of Woody Allen, Stephen Sondheim, Newsies, Spamalot, The Onion Newscast, Blue Sky Studios, and Hornet Animation, a director-oriented studio that goes for the jugular of Me-TV‘s favorite classics.

I wanted DigiDame readers to be the first to see this movie so you can let me know what you think of it. This film and others yet to be produced are part of David’s brand new Manhattan-based TV and film company, The Wit Protection Program.

The press release we are using says:

“The production company pledges to protect and defend the kind of intelligent and well-crafted comedy that millions, ages 40 to dead, grew up on, but are now being totally ignored by Hollywood. The miracle of the film is that while budgeted at well over $150,000, the project wound up costing the company exactly zero. (*Partner and TV commercial graphic artist, legend David Zung, did shell out for a few props, craft services and a hooker named Debris).”

How did they pull such an elaborate stunt off? With a brilliant scam: they mined for gold at NYU, enlisting the crème de la crème of undergraduate geniuses from The Tisch School of the Arts to crew the film. The savvy veterans were smart enough to confer with and often defer to their fledgling crew members who brought an inherent vitality to the already unbridled, break all the rules, off the wall, project.

The goal of the film was to cram in as much entertainment value as possible in the least amount of time, so get ready to buckle up for a joke a second feast! There are more gags than “Lovelace!”

The film can be seen at:

Vimeo.com/davidworld/thatsnewstome.

Password: Oldmenbosoms (*case sensitive!)

It’s all about the buzz, so help us get buzzy!

Tweets from Samsung Exec, SF Plane Crash Survivor

Posted on July 8, 2013 by loiswhitmanhess

David Eun

Maybe now you will have a whole new respect for Twitter. Many times before, I have written about the virtues of Twitter, never Facebook. They have two different purposes, though they get different bad raps.

Simply put, if you use Twitter correctly you will read news first on this information feed and you will have the opportunity to talk to the news makers themselves. No other communications vehicle can offer you the genius of this short-form blogging.

One of the biggest values of Twitter is the fact that it is live. The minute an event occurs, someone in the world posts information about it.

Such is the case of David Eun, the Samsung executive who was one of the passengers on Asiana Airlines Flight 214 when it crash-landed at the airport in San Francisco. (A little side note. Eliot and I had a bird’s eye view of that runway from our Marriott Hotel room, 1122, on our monthly trips to our Redwood City office a decade ago. Eliot was so fascinated by the drama of watching the takeoffs and landings, he often stayed up to the wee hours of the morning).

The Wall Street Journal quickly pointed out today that Eun’s tweets were the first signs that most people survived despite TV images of flames engulfing the fuselage of the wrecked Boeing 777.

All of Eun’s tweets have been posted below so you can see the story unfold. He has been quiet today other than the last tweet. Eun is well known in Silicon Valley because he previously worked at Google and at AOL.

So far today, he has not granted any conventional interviews. A special message to David Eun from DigiDame and all of our readers: “We are glad you are safe and thank you for your remarkable effort to report the news.”

Anyone who wants to learn Twitter, call me.

David Eun (@Eunner)
7/6/13, 3:13 PM
I just crash landed at SFO. Tail ripped off. Most everyone seems fine. I’m ok. Surreal… (at @flySFO)

David Eun (@Eunner)
7/6/13, 3:23 PM
Fire and rescue people all over the place. They’re evacuating the injured. Haven’t felt this way since 9/11. Trying to help people stay calm. Deep breaths…

David Eun (@Eunner)
7/6/13, 3:33 PM
Lots of activity here. Friends, pls don’t call right now. I’m fine. Most people are totally calm and trying to let the fire and rescue do their jobs. Just like during 9/11, most people are great and try to be helpful in crisis…

David Eun (@Eunner)
7/6/13, 3:55 PM
@kccnn I don’t want to divert attention away from crash. Posted updates to let everyone know that majority of passengers seem ok.

David Eun (@Eunner)
7/6/13, 4:36 PM
At Terminal now. Very grateful I’m ok. Thanks for all your best wishes but please do not call me right now. Will keep everyone posted.

David Eun (@Eunner)
7/6/13, 5:15 PM
Just went through customs. Adrenaline rush is subsiding. Just trying to process all this. Really glad that most everyone I saw seemed ok, with just a few minor injuries. Thinking a lot about family and friends right now. . .

David Eun (@Eunner)
7/6/13, 8:14 PM
LOTS of officials with badges and uniforms but no updates. No communications. Waiting…

David Eun (@Eunner) 7/6/13, 9:31 PM
Just left SFO. Thanks everyone for your support and good wishes! Wishing the best for those who were

David Eun (@Eunner)
7/7/13, 9:33 AM
Feeling a little shaky from yesterday’s experience but strengthened by outpouring of support from all over. Reminded of how connected we all are. Mourning those who died or were injured. Thinking of two little boys who [were] with their mom. Hoping they weren’t too traumatized.

If You Are 45+, Consider Yourself Old

Posted on July 7, 2013 by loiswhitmanhess

Old folks in the digital world.

I will never forget the first time I truly realized my age group was no longer considered important. Forget important, how about non-existent?

I was sitting at a client meeting at Briggs & Riley, the premium luggage company in Hauppauge, Long Island, when the young marketing managers started talking about their target audience. I wanted to slip under the conference room table and hide there until the meeting was over. I didn’t want anyone around the table to see that the person they relied on to pitch their luggage was no longer relevant.

The age group these young whippersnappers identified as the prime market for their luggage was 18 to 45. I was 58 at the time. Maybe I am crazy (don’t answer that), but I felt like someone had slapped me silly. One minute I was significant with a voice, the next I was on the outside looking in. Let’s not forget that folks 55-plus are the ones today who are doing the serious traveling and have the money to spend on quality luggage. What do those empty suits know anyway?

I really try not to focus on my age in business anymore because, as far as I am concerned, I have more energy and ambition than most youngsters today. I recently learned of a Business Insider survey conducted by Survey Monkey that compared the habits of older people who use smartphones to those of younger ones. I couldn’t believe my eyes. Business Insider has declared the age group 45-to-60 “old” compared to the age group below those numbers.

I wonder how it feels to be 45 and categorized as older America. Look at the questions asked and see the results. It’s amazing how the digital world is so divided. Maybe this is a metaphor for the rest of our lives as well.

Here are some of the topics in the survey. I think you will find the answers interesting.

Is it slightly acceptable to answer a phone call at dinner?

Are business calls slightly acceptable at dinner?

Is Facebook acceptable at dinner?

Is texting acceptable at dinner?

Do you leave voice mails?

Do you start your day with emails vs. Facebook?

Do you post a picture of people on Facebook without getting their permission?

$500K for Brand.com and $403M for MakerBot

Posted on July 6, 2013 by loiswhitmanhess

Bre Pettis, Founder, MakerBot

Years ago, I was part of a business community that would buy up domain names on the Internet as an investment. A domain name, for the purpose of this post, is the URL identification on the Internet, like www.digidame.com.

As recently as just ten years ago, people used to sit around and think of names others may someday want, buy them for a few bucks, and wait for someone to come calling. They would even purchase big brand names that weren’t taken in anticipation that someone at the company would be willing to pay big sums to get the URL back.

I used to think these folks were nuts. I came from the school of thought that if you didn’t put in a hard day’s work you weren’t entitled to make money. Boy, was I wrong. Friends made thousands upon thousands of dollars as companies started to line up to purchase their own names and other common-word names. The government finally stepped in and said outsiders could not buy company names. By that time, however, the hoarders had already collected hundreds of thousands of company and common-word names, put the paper work in their bank vaults, and were waiting for their payoffs.

In 2009, Americans got the shock of their lives when they saw www.insure.com purchased for $16 million, and then, some time after that, $14 million paid for Sex.com.

Just a few days ago, another big transaction took place that reminded everyone of the potential windfalls that are sitting in safe deposit boxes all over the U.S. Chuck Pettis, father of Bre Pettis, the founder of MakerBot, the 3D table-top printer company that I have written about here, sold Brand.com to Reputation Changer for half a million dollars. All the senior Pettis did was think to himself, “Hmmm, someday I bet someone will want Brand.com.” He then purchased the name for under $20 and sat patiently.

Here is the real killer. Reputation Changer believes the new name will pay for itself by leading to new business.

The sale of the Brand.com name comes on the heels of other super news for the Pettis family. MakerBot was just sold to Stratasys for $403 million. Bre founded his company in 2009. MakerBot is credited with making a 3D printer for the hobbyist market as well as for engineers and designers. MakerBot generated $11.5 million in revenue in the first quarter of this year. That is tremendous growth considering its sales for the entire last year was $15.7 million.

Stratasys manufacturers printers for prototyping. Together, they are perfect to help advance the industry for 3D desktop printers.

This is the type of success story that gives hope to many types of digital startups.

Testing for Dementia in 10 Minutes

Posted on July 5, 2013 by loiswhitmanhess

I knew that headline would get your attention.

Many people I know who are over 50 are concerned about getting some form of dementia. Either it runs in their family or they have watched others suffer. In either case, it’s not a pretty picture. In fact, it’s downright horrifying.

I often tell myself that since I keep my mind so busy I don’t really have to worry about it. We have all read reports, and I have even written posts, about electronic mind games that keep your brain sharp. While I want desperately to believe an active mind is preventative of dementia, it is highly likely that it doesn’t mean a thing.

We had a client who was celebrated as one of the most feared entertainment trial lawyers in the country because of his wins. We actually worked for him for over a decade and watched him protect the financial rights of The Beatles, Billy Joel, Elton John, Eddie Murphy, and more. He had a mind that was sharper and more calculating than most. Other lawyers used to line up to work with him.

His 50th birthday celebration was in Bobby DeNiro’s restaurant, the TriBeCa Grill, which was brand new at the time. The party was star-studded and filled with so much energy that I actually pinched myself to believe I was part of his crowd.

Sometime after that, he started doing strange things, some of them very eccentric, but we all thought that was just his wacky, genius personality. Then he displayed big emotional swings that were unexplainable. After that, he couldn’t remember simple words and his whole life spiraled downhill.

I could go on forever about this guy because if there was ever a mind that you would think would be the last to get dementia, it was his. We watched him descend from one of the greatest lives anyone could ever want to one of the most feared.

By the time he was 60, he had spent a decade being taken care of by a nurse in his downtown loft right near our Flatiron office. I often found myself standing outside his building trying to find solace. For years I wouldn’t go inside to visit him because the deterioration was too much to bear.

Finally, his adult daughters (their devotion to him should be made into a book or a movie) convinced me to see him one last time. Of course Eliot went with me, but it was still a very painful yet a profound experience. Shame on me for not going more.

The reason I am telling you all this is because there is great hope for many of us in that dementia may now be quickly diagnosed in routine visits to your doctor. The promise from the medical world is that they are working on ways to slow it down so we can live full, active lives for decades after early detection.

The iPad (or other tablets like it) is going to play a major role in this development. What used to take years to predict will now take 10 minutes for your physician.

One company, Cantab, is developing a new iPad app from Cambridge Cognition that will become available within a year. The technology, based on testing developed at the University of Cambridge, is designed to be easy for doctors and patients to use together.

Watch the video for a better explanation. Trust me, there are hundreds of applications that are being developed along these lines. I have read about them over the years but when I recently learned about this one, I decided to share.

Testing for Dementia in 10 Minutes

Posted on July 5, 2013 by loiswhitmanhess

I knew that headline would get your attention.

The iPad (or other tablets like it) is going to play a major role in this development. What used to take years to predict will now take 10 minutes for your physician.

Celebrating the 4th at Hess Miami

Posted on July 4, 2013 by loiswhitmanhess

Twice a year, New Year’s Eve and July 4th, we have a big bash at our Miami condo. That doesn’t mean we don’t entertain during the year, but not the size of tonight.

We are expecting around 75 people, but that number can swing either way depending on the weather. Everyone loves us on a clear night when they can see the fireworks.

Unlike parties of yesteryear, most friends come equipped with digital cameras. While it’s fun to try to capture the fireworks, it’s not necessarily an easy task. The trick is to press down and hold, only releasing at the instant you want to take the shot.

It’s now 5:51pm on my iPhone. As soon as guests start showing up, at 8pm or before, I will start snapping photos to post here. I just wanted to scratch this out first.

The Modern Day Mommy

Posted on July 3, 2013 by loiswhitmanhess

http://youtu.be/Ta5y74sA45E

I don’t know if any of you remember, but just over a year ago I did a blog post about Sarah Main, a mommy blogger and PR agent whom I met on an American Airlines flight from New York to Los Angeles.

Sarah was traveling with her son Max to see her family in Santa Barbara. We became fast friends on the flight and were emailing each other from our seats over WiFi. We found it very funny at the time. One minute complete strangers, the next minute email and work buddies.

Fast forward to last week. Sarah assisted HWH PR at a trade show for two days, meeting and greeting the press. The remarkable feat was that Sarah had given birth to her second son, Harrison, just four weeks before. When I first told her about the assignment, she was nine months pregnant. She said that by the time I’d be needing her she would be in great shape, ready to leave home to spend some time with her peers. Let me remind you we’re talking a month after giving birth.

Sarah showed up at CE Week ready to work. I kept telling everyone she had given birth just a few weeks ago, but I don’t think anyone believed me. She was so involved with my client and the press you would have thought she didn’t have a care in the world.

I finally couldn’t stand it any longer. “Sarah, I don’t get it,” I said. “Aren’t you at all concerned about what’s happening at home?” Then she told me a shocker. “I know exactly what is going on: every feeding, every diaper change, every “movement” (even the color, sorry), the naps, the baths, etc. You name it, I know it!”

I didn’t see Sarah make one call to check on the new baby. Then she told me her secret weapon which, according to her, is all the rage with working moms. It’s called Baby Connect. Sarah demonstrated it for me and drew a crowd, even from daddies nearby, since everyone is looking for a way to keep an eye on their baby all the time. Be sure to tell as many young mommies as you can about Baby Connect. It can do the following:

1) Easily track feeding (bottle, nursing, solid food), diapers, sleep, activities, mood, milestones.
2) Track pumping and expressed milk.
3) Track medicines, vaccines, sickness, weight, height, head size.
4) Automatically synchronize data between accounts over the Internet.
5) Display graphical charts of the baby’s activities.
6) Display growth charts with percentile comparison.
7) Display all entries on a graphical timeline view.
8) A timer to track nursing duration. Which side was nursed last is indicated as a reminder.
9) A timer to track naps, activities, feeding sessions, mood.
10) Easily view entries from current and prior days.
11) Email formatted reports to spouses, doctors, and nannies or sitters.
12) Email graphs.
13) Upload child photo, indicate birthday, note blood type and allergies.
14) Track as many babies as you like, setup as many parents and caregivers as you like.
15) More than 100 built-in activities descriptions.
16) Existing built-in descriptions can be customized, new descriptions can be added.
17) Display real-time log of activities during the day.
18) Track the average duration and number of sleep sessions per day, and the longest sleep session.
19) Track the average number of bowel movements and wet diapers per day.
20) Track the average number, total, and average duration of feedings and pumping per day.
21) Track the number and average duration of nursing sessions per day.

The application has been designed for maximum security. Everything is password protected.

Baby Connect is on iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad, Android devices, and at http://www.baby-connect.com.

Watch the video for an amazing demo. Sarah, thanks for sharing this wonderful baby record-keeping app with DigiDame readers.

DigiDame

My Life In Tech, Travel, Art, and Networking

Monthly Archives: July 2013

Read My Lips, You Can Finally Hear Me

iPhone Lens Gets More Intimate

Hanging Out on the Corner of Oy and Vey

Tweets from Samsung Exec, SF Plane Crash Survivor

If You Are 45+, Consider Yourself Old

$500K for Brand.com and $403M for MakerBot

Testing for Dementia in 10 Minutes

Testing for Dementia in 10 Minutes

Celebrating the 4th at Hess Miami

The Modern Day Mommy

Share this post!

Share this post!

Share this post!

Share this post!

Share this post!

Share this post!

Share this post!

Share this post!

Share this post!

Share this post!