A Parking Meter that Talks to You

Posted on September 3, 2013 by loiswhitmanhess

The biggest nightmare about metered parking is making sure your minutes don’t run out. Countless times over the years I have watched people racing down the streets of Manhattan to feed a meter before a traffic cop could show up. I also remember being in the movies, restaurants, and concerts when friends had to suddenly leave the premises in order to make sure their parking meter didn’t expire.

While I knew about PayByPhone quite a while ago, I never witnessed how it actually worked. Just like a neophyte, I stood there in amazement yesterday morning when a bunch of us went out for breakfast in Midtown Miami and no one left the table as we sat for hours talking. I did see a few friends pull out their smartphones, bring up the PayByPhone app, click on two bars, announce that they had just extended their parking meters by an hour, and order more coffee. I marveled at both the convenience and the brilliance of such an invention.

Then I really got blown away when one of my friends got an alert that he needed to feed the meter. It was a 10 minute warning. Once again, he pulled out his smartphone, tapped the app twice, and put his cell away. I just sat there in awe. It’s one thing to write about technology. It’s another to see it in action.

No more coins or pay-and-display receipts. It’s now even easier to pay for your parking using PayByPhone. It’s available on iPhone, Android, and Blackberry.

PayByPhone is now North America’s leading provider of mobile payments in the parking industry. PayByPhone operates across North America and Europe in over 180 cities including London, Miami, Vancouver, Newcastle, San Francisco, and Paris. Over three million people have signed up to use the PayByPhone service.

Inpatient Treatment for Internet Addiction

Posted on September 2, 2013 by loiswhitmanhess

An increasing number of retired friends are complaining to me that they are spending too much time in front of the computer screen. They think they have an Internet addiction. They wake up very early each day and go straight to the computer. Some even turn on their smartphone or tablet without getting out of bed (me).

Hours fly by and, before they know it, it’s 10:30 or 11am. They haven’t even started their day. They missed their exercise routines and breakfasts. By the time they shower and shave, it’s noon. They go straight to lunch. They claim there is a whole new time shift. Many admit they love it. It’s the best part of their day.

They spend quiet time reading online newspapers and magazines. The convenience of having it all in one place is still a novelty. They are also spending greater time on Facebook, chatting online with far away friends, playing word games, listening to audio books, music, and podcasts. Some spend countless hours researching discounts on travel and recreation.

Many spouses and friends don’t like it. They are worried about their isolation and addiction to the Internet. Apparently, my friends are not alone. There seems to be a slow growing epidemic among baby boomers.

Treatment facilities are springing up all over the country. A psychiatric hospital in central Pennsylvania has announced that it is the nation’s first facility to offer inpatient treatment. The 10-day program opens on September 9th at the Behavioral Health Services at Bradford Regional Medical Center. It’s $14,000, no insurance. Ouch! Coincidentally, that’s the same day as my 47th anniversary of working. Is someone trying to tell me something?

Dr. Kimberly Young, the psychologist who founded the program, said in an interview on ABC News, “Internet addiction is a problem that can be more pervasive than alcoholism. The Internet is free, legal and fat free.”

The not-for-profit program takes place inside a wing of the hospital designated for other addicts. These patients will undergo a psychological evaluation and learn ways they can minimally use the Internet and avoid problematic applications.

My question is where are the treatment centers for couch potatoes and sports enthusiasts who spend weekends in front of the television set? I like my Internet addiction. It keeps me balanced and informed. What about you?

Happy 10th Birthday Skype

Posted on September 1, 2013 by loiswhitmanhess

I have some friends who spend three to four hours a day on Skype. It has changed their lives. Family and friends who live far apart now see each other on a daily basis. It has truly changed the world of communications.

It’s popularity just keeps growing. The Internet calling service just announced that it connected 70 million people through its Internet calling service at once. That number is mind boggling. I try to imagine all those people talking to each other at once. Kind of like the scene in Bye Bye Birdie.

A leading Internet statistics company, Statista, also revealed:

1) The average time spent on a Skype conversation is 27 minutes.

2) Active Skype users spend 100 minutes a month on the service.

3) Thirty five percent of small businesses use Skype as a primary service.

4) Forty percent of all Skype calls use the video feature.

5) Microsoft bought Skype in 2011 for $8.5 billion.

Just 10 years agoonone million users used the service at once. In 2011, 30 million people made Skype calls at the same time, which is less than half the number concurrently connected .

Congrats Skype.

Tech-Inspired Words

Posted on August 31, 2013 by loiswhitmanhess

Miley Cyrus Twerking at the MTV Video Music Awards

Many baby boomers are very proud of their vocabulary skills. However, in this day and age a lot of new words are being born on the Internet. Here are some words the Oxford English Dictionary added recently.

Twerking: Dancing in a sexually provocative manner involving thrusting hip movements and squatting.

Click and Collect: When you buy something on the Internet and then pick it up in person so you don’t have to wait for delivery.

Derp: A stupid action.

Digital Detox: A period of time when a person refrains from using electronics products.

Selfie: A picture you take of yourself, usually with a smartphone.

Happy Birthday Eliot

Posted on August 30, 2013 by loiswhitmanhess

Scenes from a Birthday Celebration

Dinner at Mr. Chow, Miami Beach, FL

Group shot on boat

Whitney, all smiles

Howard and Eliot looking for dolphins

Steve, Fredrick, and Andrew

Steve and Williams

Me, Williams, and Ruth

Williams posing as JT

Fredrick and Andrew at the steering wheel

Our condo, far right

DigiDame

Fredrick posing on top of party boat

Made In USA

Posted on August 29, 2013 by loiswhitmanhess

For the last six months, I have had one of the most difficult assignments of my PR career. We were commissioned to get PR for RELM Wireless, a land mobile radio manufacturer. The radios are used by first responders: EMS, fire, police.

RELM is a 65-year old public company that only manufactures in the U.S. All of its competition manufactures offshore. Everything about the company is American: its products, its quality control, its manufacturing facilities, its company offices. RELM has excellent quality and is extremely competitively priced.

Does anyone care? We are all screaming that we need more jobs in the United States and our own government is giving foreign companies the contracts for LMRs. These are the radios that first responders use to protect all of us from terrorists, fires, and disastrous events. Just the other day, the U.S. State Department gave a $50 million order to Kenwood. When RELM asked why they chose Kenwood instead of them, the answer was “Oh, we have been doing business with them for years.”

Our client became unglued. The CEO of RELM wrote a very aggressive letter to the State Department ridiculing their out-of-touch, out-of-date business practices. No answer. I tried to get the story in the press about how we all say we need more jobs in America, yet our own government hands over the $50 million order to an Asian company. So far, very little coverage.

It all comes down to bureaucracy. No one wants to make a change. If predecessors at government agencies bought Asian, the new buyers want to do the same. It all sounds so ridiculous, but that is exactly what happens.

How do you feel about this? Shed some light.

I Did Not Have Sex with that Woman

Posted on August 28, 2013 by loiswhitmanhess

I found this quote on Google images.

I hate a bad liar. If you are going to lie, then take the time to think about what you are doing. The worst thing you can do is get caught. You lose all credibility.

As a professional pitch person, I really dislike when someone says something and then can’t back it up. I get accused of lying because I am in the business of making things or concepts look large and exciting. Yes, there are times certain people need a little boost to make a decision, but I don’t go too far off from the truth.

On the other hand, I know people who underestimate, are not enthusiastic, downplay, and don’t share info. While that is not lying, I don’t think that is fair either. When they misinterpret a situation, that can be just as damaging.

Why am I bothering with all this? I just found out about two digital projects that will be able to decipher lies and bullshit. Just think of them as meters.

I am not allowed to say another word. But be afraid. Be very afraid. This may change everything,

As soon as they become public, you will be the first to know.

How you can tell if someone is lying

Exit Plan

Posted on August 27, 2013 by loiswhitmanhess

One of the worst things about getting stuck with our car on the side of the road last week was not knowing where we were. In case you need a refresher, Eliot and I were driving south on the Sprain Brook Parkway last Wednesday in Westchester when our car just died.

When you drive long distances on a highway, you never know the activity, or lack thereof, at each exit. It might as well be a foreign country. There are billboards and highway information signs that spell out the big commercial enterprises, but that’s about it.

When the mechanic who helped us suggested that we drive to the next exit once the car started again, I went into a complete panic. He was going in one direction, we in another. What would happen to us if we were alone and nothing was there?

Worry no more everyone. The iExit Interstate Exit Guide app takes all the guesswork out of road trip pit stops. Hallelujah! We have been saved!

The iExit app identifies what restaurants, gas stations, hotels, and other services are available at each exit by name. It lets you search up to 100 exits ahead or even in another state for trip planning. It also allows you to filter by categories and brand/company names, and even to search for campgrounds and diesel or alternative fuels. iExit offers specialized information for RVers and truckers, including parking and where to find scales. And if all you’re looking for is a quick break, it also lists rest areas.

A “lite” version of iExit Guide is free for Android and iOS (iPhone, iPad), and the full version is currently $.99 for iOS.

What Does “DigiDame” Have to Do with It?

Posted on August 26, 2013 by loiswhitmanhess

Tina Turner

Tina and Oprah

At 73, Tina Turner, singer, dancer, author, choreographer, and actress, is the happiest she has ever been. She loves her age, how she feels, and the fact that she has absolutely no schedule to follow. She is fully retired and never plans to sing or dance professionally again.

Oprah interviewed Tina on her OWN channel last night while most of the music world was focused on the MTV Video Music Awards. I DVR’d Tina’s interview because I knew she would dispense great life lessons for all of us. I took it upon myself to watch the interview and then report back to you.While there is no purely digital aspect to this post, there are wise thoughts pertaining to us seniors that can enrich the latter years of our lives.

We all know that the first half of Tina’s life was living hell because of her association with Ike Turner. She was physically abused as his girlfriend and later as his wife. In those years she felt she didn’t have the strength and wherewithal to leave.

She stayed focused and always knew there were better days ahead. She has been living the good life for decades.

She recently got married to her boyfriend of 27 years, Erwin Bach, a well-to-do music producer 17 years her junior. She told Oprah the reason she got married now was because she wanted Erwin to have “a say” in her finances if something happened to her. She felt it wasn’t fair to live with someone for a long time and not give that person some control. He wanted her to have the same privilege with his money, too.

Recently the couple divested themselves of everything costly. They live a beautiful life but didn’t want the same overhead as they had had for decades. She still lives large, but nowhere near like they did before. She now feels totally liberated.

The biggest revelation was that she desires nothing. Yes, she has her beautiful home, a car, and jewelry. Yet, her biggest goal was to make enough money to take care of some loved ones and be comfortable.That had been a goal since the beginning of her career.

She quickly admits that the last few years of touring was a big drain on her. She was okay for the first song, but then she would sweat and be in physical pain. Her body started to pull back. Tina admits she couldn’t hit the high notes anymore. She claims she couldn’t wait to retire. She worked hard her whole life. She had to make sure her loved ones and the charities she supported would be taken care of financially. She has no regrets and no desire for the limelight anymore.

“I am at a stage in my life where I am totally happy. I accomplished what I wanted to do in life. I now have a great man in my life, great friends, and good health. I never really knew what happiness was. You can’t get it from a new dress, a new car, or a new house. Those are material things. You get happiness from within. When I get up in the morning, I sit for awhile to mediate. It is at that time of day that I am the happiest because I am free. No place to run to.”

Oprah asked Tina what she thought her legacy was. She immediately answered, “Endurance! I had to stay focused. No drinking, no smoking, no drugs. I stayed on course from the beginning to the end.”

Erwin and Tina today.

Erwin and Tina when they first met.

Tina and Erwin at their recent wedding.

MTV Video Music Awards

Posted on August 25, 2013 by loiswhitmanhess

Eliot and I are probably the only ones in the DigiDame community who watched the MTV Video Music Awards held, for the first time, at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center. I wanted to make sure all my readers had the opportunity to see some of the most notable talent of the night. Let the youngsters know we are hip too.