Monthly Archives: March 2014

Jimmy Fallon, Billy Joel And An iPad

Posted on by
4


If you didn’t see “The Tonight Show” on Thursday night, then you missed an incredible moment in digital history. Don’t fret. I included it here. Jimmy Fallon used an iPad app, named Loopy HD to sing “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” with Billy Joel.

Loopy HD costs $7.99 and allows users to layer recordings of singing, beatboxing, or instruments.

Business Insider explained that Fallon used the app to create a four-part background vocal harmony of the duo singing “aweema-wep, aweema-wep, aweema-wep, aweema-wep” before proceeding singing the song.

Congrats Loopy HD. That was a PR happening.

“

I Would Know That Face Anywhere, Almost Anywhere

Posted on by
2

20140321-010430.jpg

A few of my friends recently admitted to me that they can’t identify certain people who were photographed with them just a few years ago. They are totally clueless who these folks might be. They know they were friends of friends, but which friends were they?

All this may be moot by the end of this year when Facebook will reportedly be introducing a new facial recognition program that will be as good as human identification. In the case of some of my senior friends, this innovative technology may even be better.

I heard about it today from a guy who has a new startup which showcases the most innovative products available at retail. The minute I got back to my office I googled “Facebook facial recognition” only to discover a number of recent stories saying that the social network was indeed working on such a technology.

Facebook has been going in this direction for years. Presently, they have a “prompt” on their site that helps you tag a friend who is in a photograph with you, I think this has much more to do with the words being spelled out in a sentence. Now, Facebook is developing a piece of software, called DeepFace, which they say “maps 3D facial features and creates a colorless model to narrow in on specific characterizations. The accuracy of the method is 97.25%, which is just under the 97.5% accuracy that a human can identify, according to the group.”

The new technology deserves a better source to explain it a little more deeply. Get it? Click here.

Phone Exercise

Posted on by
Reply

20140319-224807.jpg

I just found another major use for the iPhone. After I tell you what it is, you will look for reasons to constantly pick up your iPhone.

The iPhone can be turned into a dumbbell. Every time you pick up the iPhone, you will be giving yourself a good workout. This is all made possible by ToneFone, a product of the UK-based company DesirableBody. It’s the world’s heaviest iPhone case. It is available for the 5 and 5S in a 2.2 pound and a 3.3 pound version. It’s rubber-coated and constructed of 100 percent British steel.

Priced around $38 and $42 respectively, the ToneFone can be shipped to the U.S. for around $11.50.

I know you think this product sounds ridiculous but several tech reporters actually bought the ToneFone. They say they love it because they are always in workout mode. That’s good news for people who make their living sitting on their tush.

Selfies Cause More And More Folks Under 30 To Seek Out Cosmetic Procedures

Posted on by
Reply

20140318-233113.jpg

I remember the first time a friend told me to have a camera shoot down on me because my Facebook photos showed too much skin hanging from my neck. I thought she was being helpful. Apparently, I’m not as vain as most Americans because the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (AAFPRS) just reported that “selfies” are making an increasing number of Americans more self-conscious about their looks.

One in three plastic surgeons surveyed said that photo-sharing social media sites are the reason why there was a 10 percent increase last year in rhinoplasty, a 7 percent increase in hair transplants, and a 6 percent increase in eyelid surgery. The report revealed that social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat are making everyone put their faces under a microscope,

Unfortunately, social media platforms are the first way many young people meet friends, romantic partners, and new employers. “They want to put their best face forward,” according to the AAFPRS. If that is not bad enough, the study also showed that children and teens are undergoing plastic surgery as a result of being bullied (69 percent) rather than to prevent being bullied (31 percent).”

I never saw this coming. I feel sorry for those who have low self-esteem. It’s a terrible way to live. What can we do for the younger generations? This is really becoming out-of-control. Facial plastic surgeons (58 percent) saw an increase in cosmetic surgery or injectables in those under age 30. Something has to be done.

To find out more about this click here.

Happy Birthday Gary

Posted on by
Reply

Today we celebrated Gary Greenberg’s birthday at Lucky Strike bowling on Miami Beach. I haven’t been bowling in 30-plus years. I’m sure many of you know this already but bowling alleys have gone totally digital. All the scoring is done for you and details of the game are posted on displays right above your lane. You even get instructions on how to strike the remaining pins. All you have to do is aim, shoot and pray.

Happy birthday Gary. Thank you for the trip down memory lane and proving to us that even at our age, we are still in the game.
20140317-230453.jpg

The birthday boy
20140317-230441.jpg

Our bowling league

Eliot bowling

20140317-234407.jpg
The digital scoreboard

20140317-234517.jpg
The digital entry form.

Retail Stores Aim To Make Comeback

Posted on by
Reply

20140317-001046.jpg

20140317-001056.jpg

A year ago, I wrote a post about how shopping centers across the United States were dying because of the significant increase in e-commerce sales. Just when I was getting used to the fact that some of my social hours in the future were not going to be spent at a mall, I find out that retail stores are reinventing themselves to be a part of the digital revolution. Bravo to them.

It turns out that while Americans love to buy online (the e-commerce industry is $1.2 trillion) traditional retailers now feel that many still desire to physically shop. Why not give them what they want?

A number of retail chains are already experimenting with Bluetooth low energy applications (Beacons) that allows them to interact with customers as they enter their establishments.

This is all spelled at in a Re/Codei story but, here is the short version of what you can expect in the future.

Many stores will provide companion apps using Beacon technology so they can accurately suggest items to the consumer. All a customer will have to do is download companion apps so they can learn about new daily choices and get discount coupons on some of their favorite items.

I know that this sounds like science fiction but customers will also be able to stand in front of a smart mirror and try things on using a digital changing-room app or get personalized recommendations based on previously purchases.

This holds true for grocery stores as well. A grocer’s app can potentially provide preset shopping lists especially for dieters, weight lifters, barbecue hosts and other profiles. Google Glass will also get in on the act by providing augmented-reality direction arrows that will lead the shopper around the store. What will they think of next?

Funny how things work out. We thought bricks and mortar retail was dead. We may have been dead wrong.

Would You Buy This App?

Posted on by
2

20140316-013027.jpg

I don’t understand why anyone would want the app I’m about to describe to you. Perhaps you can give me a reason? I don’t want to be negative because this could be the start of something big. I am just having a difficult time figuring it out. Take it seriously. The app received a lot of press and was funded by major angel investors and venture capitalists,

Called Rooster, the app provides novels in short installments. This is designed for busy people who often claim they don’t have enough time to read even though they would love to.

Rooster delivers a book in a few paragraphs at a time so the reader finds it easy to digest. It’s just like reading someone’s blog. For $4.99 per month, Rooster sends subscribers two books. They are divided into sections that can be read as little as 15 minutes at a time. Users can set their own schedule and are free to continue reading the next section if they have extra time.

Readers do not own the books but can access them from their library for as long as they are a member of the service. Each month’s picks are chosen by Rooster’s editorial.

Rooster is part of the San Francisco-based media technology startup Plympton. It raised less than $1 million in angel funding. Investors include Albert Wenger (partner at Union Square Ventures) and his wife, Susan Danzinger; Alexis Ohanian, co-founder of Reddit; Garry Tan, co-founder of Posterous and partner at Y Combinator; and others.

Sex For Success

Posted on by
Reply


I couldn’t resist not showing you what a viral sensation looks like. I’m sure you heard the expression “It went viral.” Here is a perfect example of what that means.

A three-and-a-half minute video showing 10 pairs of strangers kissing for the first time recently racked up 42 million views in less than four days. That’s what the Internet world calls going viral.

No one can ever truly explain why one particular video becomes so popular. This one was pretty obvious to me. Sex sells.

Called “The First Kiss,” the video was actually created for the clothing company Wren. Viewers do not realize the video was made for a commercial venture. When word got out, there was some negative reaction but not enough to hurt the exposure for the brand. Industry sources said the Wren video did better then fashion lines that were shown on the runway during Fashion Week.

That is all pretty amazing

Facebook Is A Constant Soap Opera

Posted on by
1

20140314-010254.jpg

Many DigiDame readers are not on Facebook or Twitter. If you were using social media platforms, you would know that a significant number of people use these networking sites to write very sorrowful posts.

A new study from the University of California, San Diego, just revealed that feelings on Facebook or Twitter can spread from user to user “like a virus.” Once and for all, it has been proven that your friends can affect your moods, positively or negatively.

John Biggs, a very well known Internet writer, wrote a post for Tech Crunch that said we might be underestimating the emotional change of one person that spreads and causes a change in many. “When you feel bad, it actually spreads, digitally, to your friends, something that should give us pause next time we post “Life sucks” on Twitter.”

You can’t imagine how many people vent on Facebook. I don’t know if they think they are talking to a select few or if they love telling a huge audiences so many dark things about themselves, but I feel the University of California, San Diego, is right on in their assessments. I get very blue after reading the soap opera of some of the people I follow.

Here is a sampling of what I am talking about:

1) A former television director has a brain tumor so he gives a debriefing of his visits to the doctor.

2) A mother of a five year old girl always claims her daughter is sick. There hadn’t been a week in years where she hasn’t detailed an illness her daughter has had. I wonder who is making her daughter sick?

3) A middle age male friend lost his mother a few months ago. He talks to her on Facebook several times a week.

4-An acquaintance is miserably married. His flirting on Facebook is embarrassing. I don’t know if his wife knows what is going on. Someone needs to straighten this guy out.

I could go on and on about the countless people who in my estimation go too far spelling out private information. Maybe they feel better after they post. I know I feel worse and worry about them all the time.

My Take On Bossy

Posted on by
2

20140313-021355.jpg

Sheryl Sandberg

I have been bossy my entire life. I’m bossy in my business life as well as my personal one. I’m sure that plenty of people have called me bossy behind my back. They certainly have to my face. I know that I must not have liked It at the time but it never altered my life one bit nor did it give me much grief.

Sheryl Sandberg, Chief Marketing Officer of Facebook, has started a worldwide campaign through her Lean In organization to ban the word “bossy” when it comes to describing women because it has caused major career setbacks. Sandberg also said it deflates a young woman’s self esteem and discourages her from becoming a leader.

While I agree with Sandberg that calling someone bossy could be discouraging and hurtful, it should not be that painful for any woman.

This kind of thinking reminds me of the women I know who are afraid to walk Into a Louis Vuitton or Gucci store because they feel intimidated. That infuriates me because the sales staff are ordinary ladies who are taught to adopt a certain attitude. I tell friends to pretend they are the female version of Richard Gere in Pretty Woman. They have to demand that the retail staff suck up to them. It works every time.

My advice to women is to get a number of significant achievements under their belts before acting like a know-it-all. No one likes a smarty-pants. Once they have made their mark, then they can start asserting themselves. By the way, this is true for men too. Exercise common sense. You can’t go wrong.