Category Archives: digital

What A Day This Has Been

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I’m in Morocco. I need to go to sleep right now because we have been up all night. Our flight to Morocco on Royal Air Moroc was delayed six hours so instead of leaving at 7pm Friday night we left 1am Saturday morning. They never gave us an explanation. It was about a six hour flight and I was so busy knitting and then ripping out because of mistakes I made. I really didn’t sleep much.

I didn’t know what to expect in Casablanca, so it all has been quite a surprise. Our Smartours guide (this is our seventh trip) said Morocco is one of the few places on Earth were everyone is welcomed and accepted for who they are. That was so nice to hear.

Here are some photos of the sights.

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Know What Alec Baldwin Knows

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IMG_1111.JPGImage: Zynga.com

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IMG_1112.JPGImage: PCmag.com

If you can’t find Alec Baldwin these days, he is probably playing the new updated “Words With Friends.”

In case you forgot, Alec got into trouble on an American Airlines flight December, 2011 when he refused to turn off his phone minutes before his Los Angeles bound flight to New York was about to take off because he was playing the Scrabble-type game. To refresh your memory, click here.

When the story broke, “Words With Friends” became even more popular than it had been. Being a publicist, I still insist the whole incident was a set-up, but I’m not interested in debating that now.

I’m here to tell you one of our favorite digital games just had a update. You can read about it in USA Today. Just to set the record straight, “Words With Friends” is not associated with Scrabble. Apparently, there are enough differences that Zynga, the parent company of “Words With Friends,” is able to co-exist with Hasbro, maker of Scrabble.

Some of the new updated features:

1-Community Matches: Players can search for a more ideal opponent.

2-A Dictionary and Word of the Day to improve your vocabulary.

3-A new type of personal profile

4-Your game stats, with wins and losses.

5-The number of unique words you have used.

I don’t know if I’m happy about these improvements. Once I see my lousy stats in a snapshot view, I may want to quit forever. Forever is a long time. I have to remind myself, it’s just a game. Hear that, Alec?

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Standard American Diet (SAD)

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According to the creators of MicroGreenz, an estimated 40 per cent of Americans will be obese by 2030. Their Kickstarter campaign claims “commercial interests have transformed our food into what is now dubbed the standard American diet.”

I am sharing this information with you because three friends sent me an email about the same campaign in one hour. I thought that was pretty odd. There may be something to it.

MicroGreenz are little veggie shoots that grow virtually in 10 days. They claim to have “four to 40 times more nutrients than mature veggies. All we have to do is sprinkle them on salads, soups, sandwiches, etc.

You decide for yourself. Watch the video to see how easy it is to grow these seedlings right in your window.

This reminds me so much of the science projects we had in the sixth grade. If you try it, let me know. I will share with others.

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Risky Business

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If you are a Uber customer, or are thinking of becoming one, I strongly suggest you read their terms and conditions. CNET, a tech site, just wrote a story that spells out how Uber “absolves itself of any liability in cases of injury or accident and is not responsible for a driver’s actions.”

I was particularly drawn to the story because as you probably know, Eliot and I no longer own a car in NYC. We had every intention of using Uber for local trips. The service came highly recommended by family and friends.

It certainly is upsetting to read that Uber is not responsible for anything that happens to me. CNET actually quotes a lawyer who examined Uber’s written claims. He said, “You can be raped, you can be killed, you can be murdered, and it’s not their responsibility.”

Click here to read about the passenger who got hit over the head with a hammer by one of the Uber drivers.

This post is to encourage you to know your Uber rights. While Eliot and I haven’t used Uber yet, we absolutely plan to in several cities. We have been taking taxis in NYC for decades so we know the good, the bad, and the unpredictable, We just like being forewarned.

By the way, CNET, says that five year old Uber is growing rapidly. “It now has cars driving around 204 cities in 45 countries, and the company claims to cover 55 percent of the US population. It’s also the highest-valued venture-backed company in the world right now with a valuation of $18.2 billion.”

It’s Rude To Publicly Publish Someone Else’s Email.

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IMG_1077.GIFImage: redbus2us.com

I can tell immediately when I am getting an email from a contemporary (read: older person). If he or she is sending a group email, everyone’s electronic address is copied in the “To:” line. It never occurs to the sender to use the Blind Copy line out for respect to everyone else who doesn’t want his or her email address passed around.

I never say anything because I assume everyone else on the list is admonishing the sender. I just smile and let someone else do my dirty work.

The other “aged” maneuver my friends do is forward jokes that were passed along from several of their other friends. Not only do I see pages of email addresses that were copied from prior emails, but it takes me forever to scroll down to the joke. I now make it a habit to delete the entire email before I get tortured by the process.

A New Chapter In Book Publishing

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Book publishers are finally going to compete with Amazon. Harper Collins is leading the way, but I heard other publishing houses plan to do exactly the same thing.

Effective in a month from now, Harper Collins is going to help their individual authors sell books. Harper Collins authors can now add a “Buy Now” button to their own personal websites and social feeds which will transfer book buyers directly to the hc.com (Harper Collins) online store.

That’s pretty cool. Seems like a natural to me. Not sure why this was never done before. I guess the book industry finally decided that they needed to do something novel. Ha!

That’s not all. Harper Collins authors will receive better royalty rates on affiliate sales.

Congratulations to all my friends who publish books with HC. My suggestion! Don’t quit your day job yet. A contact of mine at HC confided that this won’t put a dent in Amazon book sales for many years to come.

It’s A Fast Three Years

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Image: Apple

Today is the third anniversary of the death of Steve Jobs, Apple’s Founder and former CEO. He was 56 years old. It is difficult to believe that it’s three years already. Remember when three years took a long time to happen? Now, at our age, it is going by so faster and faster.

I read in Business Insider that Tim Cook sent an email to Apple employees reminding them of the anniversary and reflecting on Jobs’ wisdom.

Creativity

“Creativity is just connecting things. When you ask creative people how they did something, they feel a little guilty because they didn’t really do it, they just saw something. It seemed obvious to them after a while.”

Inventing

“It’s really hard to design products by focus groups. A lot of times, people don’t know what they want until you show it to them

Death

“Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.”

Getting Fired

“Getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to me. The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again. It freed me to enter one of the most creative periods of my life.”

For more profound quotes from Steve Jobs, click here.

My Worlds Are Colliding

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The first time I heard Jerry Seinfeld ask George Costanza if he was worried about his worlds colliding, I was dumbfounded. What an interesting way to shed light on the different roles we all play in life.

George was worried if he introduced his current girlfriend to his friends, that George Costanza as you know him, world cease to exist. There is: The Relationship George, Independent George, George You Grew Up With, Movie George, Coffee Shop George, Liar George, and Bawdy George.

The reason why I’m thinking about worlds colliding is because there is a new calendar app that integrates your life with everything else going on in the world. That means your new daily “UpTo” calendar could possibly display your appointments, those of your family and friends, and events you are regularly interested in like concerts, movies, theater, book releases, new record albums, outdoor activities, etc.

All you have to do is check the categories that “UpTo” offers and they conveniently appear on your daily calendar. Even if you didn’t buy tickets to a certain concert, “UpTo” lists it. Many of us like to know what’s going on in the world. The app also allows you to sync in activities from family and friends who are willing to participate.

The app features layers of different events. “UpTo” links to 10,000 calendars and you can pinch and expand your calendar and reveal another layer of content based on your interest.

I have included a video which explains the entire concept. I just downloaded the app myself so I don’t miss out on a thing. I will be curious to see how my calendar switches to Miami. One step at a time.

Capsules Replace Needles

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I was on a series of conference calls all day yesterday. That’s not unusual for me these days. I have at least nine pre-scheduled conference calls each week. This seems to be routine for companies who have employees all over the United States.

I like most of the calls because you learn pertinent information all the time. The frustrating part of most calls is waiting for all the participants to hop on. I started to pass the time lately by asking those who were holding with me if they read anything lately that was interesting.

One guy yesterday blew my mind when he told us all that the needle may be replaced by a pill. That would be so cool for the many people I know who are afraid to get poked. Researchers at MIT and Massachusetts General Hospital are working on an oral alternative to an injection. The solution involves having tiny needles on the pill’s surface injecting drugs directly into the lining of the stomach.

Watch the video to see how the technology works. Or, click here for written information.

iPhone 6 Plus Forces Fashion Industry To Rethink The Pocket

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Left to right: The iPhone 6 Plus, the iPhone 6 and the iPhone 5
IMAGE: MASHABLE

A few friends in the fashion industry have recently told me that larger pants/slacks pockets are going to be a key feature in casual clothing for the Spring season. It seems consumer research, among loyal fans for a number of brands, show that the phablet, the mega-sized mobile phone, is here to stay, at least for the foreseeable future.

I guess I’m a prime example of why this is true. When I owned both an iPhone and a mini iPad at the same time, I mostly used the smaller device. It was easier to hold and much easier to manipulate. That’s why, when I lost my mini iPad a few months ago, I didn’t rush out to buy a new one. I wanted to see if the new iPhone 6 Plus would offer a better user experience for me. I will get my new phone in a few weeks.

People feel very devoted to the Samsung Galaxy. The phablet (half phone, half tablet) allows them to have a larger screen to read books and magazines while still providing a fully-featured mobile phone. Now the iPhone has two new larger-screened sizes, a 4.7-inch called the iPhone 6, and a 5.5-inch dubbed the iPhone 6 Plus. The iPad Mini, has a 7.9-inch display.

The big dilemma for most consumers who want to buy a phablet is where to store it? Cell phones easily slipped into a pants pocket or a tiny purse. I thought about this myself. The best way for me not to lose my cell is to put it in my pocket. This way I can physically feel it all the time. I can never find my iPhone in my handbag. The minute I put it in the side compartment or in the center, it falls into a big black hole. Five seconds after I put it in my bag, I go into a complete panic trying to locate it again.

Mashable, the tech site, recently surveyed designers to see their reaction to the phablet. Big changes are coming. While this may be a challenge for some design houses, others see this as a huge opportunity to sell clothes with new pocket dimensions. Click here to read what American Eagle, J. Crew, L.L. Bean, Levi’s, and Lee Jeans said about new pocket designs.