Category Archives: Uncategorized

DIGITAL MEMORIES–THANK YOU COUSIN JEFF

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Ruthie, Willie, Lois and Steve, circa 1956

I am feeling very nostalgic today. Tomorrow is Mother’s Day. My mother died seven years ago. It doesn’t matter how old you are everyone wants to be mothered. My mother was a master mother. She loved my brother and me more than life itself. The longer she is gone, the more I miss her. Now that I am one of the oldest members of my family, I understand more than ever what “it’s lonely at the top” truly means. No one calls me to ask what I did for the day, who I spoke to, what I ate, am I happy and how I feel? 

The very questions I used to hate on a daily basis, are the ones I miss the most. I would do anything to relive the days of a daughter. Not much I can do about that. Then the next best thing happened this morning. My first cousin Jeff Young from Los Angeles surprised me with something called Memory Safe Videos. He took an 8mm film from his parent’s house and brought it to Costco where they offer “Digital Transfer Services” which transfers home movies, slides and prints to DVDs. Then MemorySafe takes those DVD’s and posts short highlights on a secure website for your private viewing and sharing. This service is available at Costco, CVS, Rite Aid, Ritz Camera and Walgreens. 

Mom and Dad

I wish I could share the video with you but the service limits the viewing unless you pay extra. I will do that eventually. Meanwhile, this morning I was able to view my mother and her entire family at her parent’s 50th anniversary party. Through the wonderments of digital technologies these old 8mm films that were stored in a box somewhere became easy to transfer videos that can be repeatedly viewed over and over.

Jeff’s email message said he was going to transfer more of the 8mm films so that we can all share these wonderful memories. Nothing like bringing the past right in to the future with a link click on your laptop, iPad and smart phone.

Happy Mother’s Day to everyone, everywhere.

HELP ME GET RID OF MY HEEBIE-JEEBIES

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I get the heebie-jeebies when I see a person over 50 not using a smartphone.  They might as well be wearing bell bottoms, because they look like dinosaurs to me. I hate it even more when they say “Smartphone, what do I need it for?” 

I am so passionate about this subject because I don’t want anyone from my generation to miss out on all the cool technology that is offered today. All the stuff we dreamed about when we were growing up is finally happening. We are so lucky to be alive during this amazing, innovative era.  I often wonder where I came from when I’m excited about finding a new app that makes my life so much easier, but my friends aren’t jumping for joy. 

This week alone I added a scanner, business card, two videos, and a greeting card app to my iPhone roster. Every time an app is added, I feel like I inherited a significant gift from a major donor. I can’t wait to play with it.  I admit that when I open most of them, I am clueless about what to do next. I usually push a lot of buttons until I discover what to do, or I wait until I see one of my younger friends.  I bug them relentlessly to show me how to work the app. Our tech guru at HWH usually bears the burden of showing me the ins and outs, over and over. I can never remember a thing if I don’t repeatedly use the app. 

My biggest recommendation to everyone that is technologically challenged is to get a geek to help you once or twice a week. Hire a young kid for $25 an hour to demystify what you don’t know. You will be amazed at how simple it all is.  All this tech stuff doesn’t come intuitively to our generation because we didn’t grow up with it. The kids today did.  If you resist, it is because you are afraid to admit what you don’t know. That is so silly. Even some of my engineering contacts from Google ask me questions about social media that I assumed that they should know the answers to. The digital world is all about everyone helping each other out. 

The greatest reward you will receive when you delve into the world of technology is that your children and grandchildren will be so proud of you. You need to be a part of the tech culture.  You’ll see what a great icebreaker it will be when you contribute to the conversation around the dinner table. You will level the playing field. The generation gap will disappear on certain topics outside of technology as well. All of a sudden, you’ll be relevant on many fronts.  Please don’t be a cynical spectator any longer. You  also need a smartphone  because it’s the future of communications. Smartphones are going to be a big threat to desktop and laptop computers.  Most people today use smartphones for everything. They read novels, draft contracts, and edit videos right on this handy, small, mobile device. Please be a part of the upwardly mobile society.

SHARING VIDEOS PREDICTED TO BE THE NEXT BIG TREND IN SOCIAL MEDIA

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Unless you were hiding under a rock a few weeks ago, you had to have read that Facebook bought a smartphone photo-sharing app called Instagram for $1 billion in cash and stock. It made page one news in The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times. Every TV news station covered it. What made the story so remarkable was that Instagram is a two-year-old San Francisco-based company. Yes, just founded two years ago and it was bought for a record breaking sum. That is why the Internet is so sexy and appealing to everyone who understands the dynamics of the digital world. This little baby company came up with the concept of an easy way to snap a photo, chose a filter to transform its look, and then use Instagram to post it on Facebook, Twitter, or Tumblr. 

Facebook immediately saw a synergy between its business model and what Instagram was all about. At the end of last year, Facebook reported that 250 million photos a day were being posted on its platform. In its SEC filings, Facebook also noted that its members spend nearly one-fifth of their time browsing other people’s photos. Instagram was a natural and most desired fit. 

Mobile apps like Instagram are aimed at people of all ages, but I personally feel that every parent or grandparent should download the app so you can share more with members of the family and friends everywhere. This is a wonderful and fun way of keeping in touch. Now, get ready for something brand new. Internet forecaster Gary Vaynerchuk is predicting that video sharing is the next big thing. It’s also a natural. Gary is the one who predicted that Facebook would buy Instagram.  Now Gary is saying that YouTube is going to buy Viddy or Socialcam because those apps allow users to shoot or capture a video, edit it, and privately or publicly share it with the world at large. Both apps upload to Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. Gary is quick to point out that what Instagram did for phone-shot photos, Viddy and Socialcam are going to do for videos. 

Consider yourself well informed after you click on Gary’s video blog called The Next Wave, which appears on The Daily, the first of its kind national news publication built exclusively as an application for touch screens and emerging digital platforms. The Daily is currently available on the iPad, iPhone, and select Verizon Samsung tablets. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SpahiDOwUMs

MY EXPLANATION OF A BLOG

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It never occured to me to devote one blog post to explaining what blogging is all about. Since I started DigiDame, I have received several calls from friends asking me to define a blog and its purpose.  There are many more qualified folks that can detail the true definition of a blog then myself. However, I will try to explain it in my terms and provide a link to Wikipedia that can also be of assistance. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blog

A blog is an online diary which can be personal or professional (for business purposes). The entries are called “posts.”  The frequency of a post depends on the person writing the blog but most serious bloggers post at least once a day. The whole purpose of a blog is to have the ability to express independent beliefs without having some higher authority edit your thoughts.  Most blogs are written on templates that provide options for pictures, videos, links to related stories, tags (words that can be used for browsing and searching purposes),  font formats and overall structure. Blog posts are displayed with the latest entry first.   

I personally don’t like the reverse chronological order because I find it confusing. Unless you have read the blog posts from the beginning there could be references that you don’t understand. I don’t have a solution, so I have to live with it. I am not sure how others feel about the ordering, but I can’t imagine them liking it, because most blog posts are not self-explanatory. A lot of assumption is granted to the writer. That is true for traditional printed newspapers as well these days.  

In the next post, I will share the latest trends in posting, some of which I’ve just learned myself. I started DigiDame to make sure people my age and older know all about the opportunities in the digital world.  Make sure you read it, because there are some new trends that have changed the world of journalism that you’ll want to know about.

YOUR GRAY IS SHOWING

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The minute someone over 55 sees a gray hair, a wrinkle, a dark spot, or even a dimple someplace on their body where they have not seen it before, they want to cover it up immediately.  Why is it not the same way with their tech habits?

Many of the nearly 80 million baby boomers (many of them have turned 65 this year) and older seniors are exposing their tech naivety on almost a daily basis. I am not saying that this pertains to every senior person, but it certainly does to many.  I make my fair share of mistakes too, but I have a group of young techies around me constantly that point out my blunders every chance they get.

I wanted to address these fairly simple errors because if we correct them on a united front, then maybe we can achieve the respect we deserve.  As Mashable, one of the best tech blogs, recently pointed out, “As boomers confront old age,” they will certainly defy what we think it means to “get old.” It will challenge us to rethink how we use the web and how we engage older people with newer technologies.

Here is a list of absolute no no’s:

  1. Do not copy your entire email list in the “To” space.  That is what “Bcc” is for.  If you are sending out an email to multiple people who do not know each other, you must blind copy.  Most people do not want their email exposed to strangers.  I recently received an email with Katie Couric, Diane Sawyer and Arianna Huffington copied on it. Do you really think those gals want me to have their email address?  Ha! Don’t answer that.
  2. Just because you are retired and have nothing else to do, don’t send out jokes several times a day, every day, with the subject, “I usually don’t send out jokes but this one is really funny.”   Chances are someone else sent around those jokes already.  I have to clear out my inbox everyday from a certain someone who used to be the CEO of a major company.  He sends out about 20 to 30 jokes a day, even on high holy days.  I don’t have the heart to tell him to stop because he is such a wonderful guy. I picture him sitting at his computer day and night with his trigger finger ready to go.
  3. The one that makes you look like you died or just faded away is your Facebook page without your picture.  Many seniors want to join the world of social media, but just want to test it.  Either you jump in and engage, or delete your account.  You look like you are missing in action.  Some older people have told me that they only joined so they can follow their grandchildren.  Bad move. If they find out that is your main purpose, they know how to de-friend you and you will not know the difference.
  4. Please don’t tell people you don’t check your emails on a frequent basis even if it is true.  You sound like you are telling them you don’t take a shower every day. The Internet is all about instantaneous access.  You should be checking your email everyday or several times a day. To those that say “but no one emails me so why should I be checking.” I answer no one is sending you a check everyday, yet you wait for the mailman like it is your last meal.
  5. When someone sends you and others an email don’t “reply to all” unless your message is that important that others have to see it.  There is nothing worse than 10 people saying “You’re welcome” to the same person.  I make the same mistake when I get a text from my brother because the multiple names are hidden. My nephew Sam is always looking out for me, letting me know the faux pas I committed.   I am much sharper about my responses now.
  6. This is the worst and I want to scream bloody murder when someone forwards an email to me with pages and pages of lists of email addresses that have received the message already.  Why aren’t you cutting and pasting?  All you have to do is “forward” and delete the names of people who were previously copied. Why is it my responsibility to search through pages and pages of email addresses before I get to the content that you wanted me to read?  Honestly, I just delete these emails.  I can’t be bothered anymore.

I hope I am being helpful.  To quote Mashable, “The Boomer generation isn’t just big—it’s made up of people who think and act differently than previous generations.” This means we are suave, sophisticated and savvy.  We have a reputation to uphold.

BIT BY BIT I AM GETTING THERE OR HOW A DIGITAL PRODUCT IS HELPING ME TO CONTROL MY SUGAR LEVELS

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I know you are not going to believe this unless you know me well. There are days that I don’t take more than a 1,000 steps. That means all I have done for the day is go to work, sit all day ,come home again and sit all night. Some weekends I do even less. I sit on the couch all day, read, watch TV, talk on the phone and do some computer work. That amounts to a few hundred steps, going to the bathroom and getting up every hour for a snack.

All that ended a few weeks ago when my doctor told me my sugar levels were up. He said he was “concerned.”  If I didn’t knock down the count he was going to have to put me on meds. All of a sudden my entire life flashed in front of me. I had never taken exercise seriously. All that was for people who were vain. It finally occurred to me that there was a cause and effect in my sugar count. If I sat, the number would go up. If I walked the required number of steps a day (10,000 according to most exercise gurus), then my sugars levels would be normal. My physician, Dr. St Claire at Yaffee Rudin Associates, said exercise was far more important than what I was eating. That was the first time I heard that. I confirmed this with a friend of mine, Dr. Howard Stark, a well known gastroenterologist, in Washington D.C., who also informed me that 10,000 steps was necessary for cardiovascular health. If I wanted to lose weight, I should do 12,500 steps. That is the magic number to get rid of those extra pounds.

While all this seems like a simple solution, walking 10,000 or 12,500 footsteps a day is no easy task. In order to accomplish this, you need someone like a life coach reminding you constantly to get up and walk. I was telling my friend Steve Greenberg, the host of The Food Network’s new show, Invention Hunters, (you read about him in a prior post) about my dilemma. I’ve had a lot of pedometers and threw them all out because they were difficult to set and reset. I spent more time trying to reconfigure the pedometer than I did walking.

Steve surprised me with the Fitbit. It is not a pedometer. It is a device that could have only been developed in the digital world. Unlike all of its pedometer predecessors, the Fitbit is a wireless unit that is synched to the Fitbit website, www.fitbit.com  and measures your motion patterns to tell you the calories you’ve burned, steps taken, distance traveled, and sleep quality. The Fitbit uses a MEMS 3-axis accelerometer and a built-in MEMS altimeter that measures your vertical climb up stairs and hills.

What I really like is the automation. I don’t have to do a thing other than walk. The digital unit automatically restarts at midnight. Initially, you are required to register on the Fitbit website which asks some very basic questions. All you have to do after that, is remember to charge the Fitbit by attaching its USB connection to your computer every two weeks. When I get more ambitious, I will use the website to log my food, activity, weight and chat with other users, achieving the full digital experience. Now, when I want to see my results, I press the small lever on the outside of the Fitbit and I get a digital readout of steps taken, miles walked (or partial miles), calories burned, and steps climbed. The Fitbit can easily clip to slacks or can used with a wrist cuff.

Since I’ve been using the Fitbit I’ve been pressing that lever several times a day just to see if it is still working. As much as I am a part of the digital community, I still can’t believe that there is a (wireless) device that is such a miracle worker. I guess that is why I started this blog in the first place. We live in a world where there are so many advantages. If we had the opportunity to tell our parents and grandparents that we are living in a world where such automation and memory is the norm, they would shake their heads in astonishment.

Now that I am a big shot, armed with my little digital friend attached to me, I have to get off my butt and start walking. Maybe, someday there will be a machine that can do that for me as well. All I have to do is stay healthy enough to see it happen. Because it will!

 

THE ABC’S OF INVESTING IN THE DIGITAL COMMUNITY

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There were a few people upset with me about what they call a rather negative post I wrote about investing in the digital marketplace. All I was trying to do was warn the neophytes that most people lose money in start ups, especially digital ones. My husband and I lost $25,000 over 12 years ago on an Internet project that was going to be the first directory of some kind. It sounded so exciting at the time that we were jumping up and down for joy.We were going to get rich with the creator, then referred to as the young genius.

The genius must have made a few errors because all of the investors lost their money. The reason given was that the technology needed a lot more funding than anyone anticipated. This is very typical. We didn’t sweat it too much because in those days we were making a lot of money in our own business. By the way, the young genius never apologized and was never held publicly accountable. That is also very typical. Today he is the owner of a well known Internet site and begrudgingly answers the calls of his former angels. Most of the time he never calls back.

This experience didn’t stop us from other investments. We were always ready for someone else’s engine to make money for us.  Again we lost money but we justified it because we were doing very well with investments in real estate. Today it would take a sledge hammer for us to open our wallets. What we did when we were younger no longer exists.

Investing is really a young sport. They have the time to make up the possible losses. Personally, I think I gave you the best financial advice possible.This morning I was reading some investing advice from probably the best known and respected Venture Capitalist in the digital business, Fred Wilson of Union Square Ventures, He is revered. When he speaks everyone listens and he confims some of what i am saying here. He also adds other important investing trends that cannot be ignored.

http://www.avc.com/a_vc/2012/04/what-if-web-and-mobile-apps-are-like-tv-shows.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+AVc+(A+VC)

I THINK I HAVE SCOOPED THE WORLD

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You are reading it here first. My friend Steve Greenberg, who is about to become a national sensation as the host of Invention Hunters on The Food Network next month, informed me about a new app for the iPhone that allows you to put yourself into your video shoots. Steve didn’t exactly give me the scoop himself but I squirmed it out of him. If you are like me, you like to shoot videos of your travels and the events you attend. You probably shoot videos of your family, especially the grandkids, friends and hobbies. The big problem I have is that all my videos have everyone else in them except me. It’s like I was never there. Steve tried showing me how to turn my iPhone around to shoot myself and then turn it back again on the subject matter. That only forced me to lose my balance and train of thought. I always really love pretending I am a news reporter, capturing interesting things and then sharing them with family and friends (doesn’t matter if they want it or not).

The other day Steve was in NYC (he resides in Miami) to appear on Dr. Oz and The Today Show. He stays in my apartment whenever he is in New York, so we have a lot of quality time. He never mentioned anything about the new app in development called 2CamShoot. It allows you to switch between the iPhone’s front and back cameras when recording video. I found out about it while I was watching one of his other segments (Seattle King TV), that he did earlier in the week.

Hello Steve !!! Did you forget to tell me about something that I longed for? The Seattle TV segment was local so now you are one of the few who can learn all about it at http://www.2camshoot.com. It is really so easy to use and it is so much fun. I can’t stop shooting iPhone videos. The big question is why didn’t Apple develop this feature themselves? I am very confused. It seems like a natural. They already feature two cameras on the iPhone for Facetime, the personal video conferencing feature. Somehow, they never doubled dipped by using the two cameras for their video function.

Enter 2CamShoot. This is how the company describes it. “ Without this app, the only way you can record a video that showcases yourself and something else is by attempting to swing the phone around, losing sight of the screen, and just guessing what image is being recorded. Certainly not a smooth option. 2CamShoot ends that awkward bumpy camera move. By using this app, you are able to simply switch between the front and back cameras by just touching the icon on the screen. Video recording on your iPhone will never be the same. Put yourself into the video and make every shoot a 2CamShoot.”

And yes there is a video of Steve using the app right on the 2CamShoot website. Here is a prediction. Apple buys the company that produced the app and Steve becomes the next famous Steve at Apple.

MY ONLY ENCOUNTER WITH DICK CLARK

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I can’t remember whether it was a consumer electronics or video company that hosted a press conference featuring Dick Clark at the Ed Sullivan Theater in 1991, but I can remember the conversation I had with him. I wormed my way up to him after the press conference and asked if he would consider acting as an advisor to a newspaper my husband Eliot and I wanted to publish. It was a newspaper for teenagers written by teenagers. Remember, this was way before we all knew about the Internet.

I explained the entire concept. Teenagers would write about the world and local politics, education, current events, pop culture, entertainment, fashion, music, and sports. He listened courteously and immediately told me it would not work.

The world’s greatest authority on teenagers had squashed the idea that Eliot and I were working on for months in a matter of seconds. We already spent a lot of money on focus groups, a dummy layout, business plans, advertising presentations and editorial staff assignments.

I was devastated. I tried to reason with him. We thought it was a natural. In fact, during the time of our research we discovered that there was another group trying to do the same thing. How bad of an idea could this be? We thought teen reporters writing for other teens was just brilliant.

I remember looking straight into Mr. Clark’s eyes for some reassurances.  He simply said that the majority of teens don’t read and nothing in the world was going to change that. One more time, I pointed out that our concept was the solution. Teens writing for each other would be groundbreaking and they would learn about topics they never before explored.

No matter how long I talked, Mr. Clark was not going to change his mind. He continued to keep his eyes focused on mine. The more he looked at me, the more I wanted to just run away and pretend the entire discussion never took place.

I told him that I still thought he was wrong and that I would get back to him with our progress.  Needless to say, the project went no place fast for a number of reasons.  Before he left our little huddle he said, “May you go with God Speed.”  For years I wondered why he said that and what it meant.  I looked the phrase up yesterday and realized I never got back to him to tell him he was right, but I think he already knew it.

TECH HICCUPS

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Can you imagine how mortified we were when our client didn’t bring her invention to the press conference we organized at the Consumer Electronics Show to announce its existence? This is just one of the many insane stories we’ve experienced over the years repping entrepreneurs, inventors, investors and all kinds of startups in tech. Some of the major brands we’ve worked for were wacko too, but more about those at a later date.

The tech business attracts the most fearless because there is so much money to be made. We’ve had our fair share because our agency was well known and we provided credibility to those who so desperately needed  it. Like most psychotics, you couldn’t tell those clients were crazy at first but when their neuroses popped out you couldn’t tuck them back in.

The client who didn’t bring her so called 3D TV alternative to the CES press conference felt very justified because it wasn’t ready. She didn’t feel she owed anyone an explanation because this invention was a game changer and it was worth waiting for.  The press went crazy at the conference calling her all kinds of names and to this day, those few who are still in the business rib me about it every chance they get. The client continued to pull off shenanigans like that for a few years until her Silicon Valley investors pulled the plug. The reason why she was able to survive for so long, was because she capitalized on her Cal Tech degree and her ability to BS the investment community. There is nothing more vulnerable than a bunch of deep pocket money men who are desperate for a big hit.

Then there was our other more recent client who suddenly disappeared for a week after the servers for his iPhone app collapsed because of the big story we secured about his invention in the NY Times. The servers were not capable of handling the 72,000 downloads that were activated within a short period of the story hitting. Instead of handling all of the hundreds of complaints we received, he took a powder and we had to field the never ending inquiries. He resurfaced when everything was up and running again. We took the heat, but his checks were well worth it.

The stories go on and on.  The last one I wanted to mention for this post, is one of our most recent clients who just couldn’t articulate what his website was all about.  He was the founder, creator,  and technology genius behind the entire creation.  He was also very handsome, smart and personable. But the “nerd” in him took over every time he had to verbally explain what his company actually did. No matter how many times we asked him to write it down and keep it as his boiler plate, the more complicated his explanations became.  We would cringe when he was interviewed on TV because he would take up the entire segment spitting out the details of his company.

I am not sure if these stories are just specific to the tech industry, but I can surely tell you they are prevalent here. Geniuses just think differently.