Internet Geek Girl

I get extremely excited writing about Dave McClure. It’s like blogger Viagra. Or since I’m a female, we’ll call it blogger Zestra. Why you ask? Well, Dave McClure, like all my guests here on InternetGeekGirl, is fantastic. I know I am a fan girl – actually I am for all my amazingly smart colleagues – but Mr. 500 Hats himself is truly special.

The self-proclaimed “D-List VC”! [Dave sees himself as the Kathy Griffin of Silicon Valley (except Geeks are his Gays; and he likes it!] Personally, I think Dave is funnier than Kathy Griffin (and she’s freakin’ hilarious). And while Kathy is brilliant, I doubt she can match Dave’s masterful mind and intellect.

By day, Dave is an angel investor at the Founders Fund. By day and night actually. He travels all over the place looking for cool startups to invest in. Companies like Twilio and SlideShare. That’s the inspiration for Dave’s fantasy application – a desire to stay more connected to his family.  Like most of us struggling to balance life and work, we’re always on the look out for new, effective tools and strategies. Mobile technologies obviously have a big impact for staying organized and connected. Watch Dave’s fantasy application and imagine a world where staying connected to your loved ones is that much easier!

Steve Rosenbaum is my only social media / technology friend that has won an Emmy Award. I’ve seen it in his office. His wikipedia entry describes him as an American Television Producer. I describe him as a story teller than can inspire the imagination in any medium – whether it be film, digital or the written word.

Steve also runs Magnify.net, a video publishing platform that makes it easy for you to integrate user-generated video, video that you produce, or video that you discover into your website. (And our partner for hosting the Fantasy Mobile Application content). Steve blogs for Always On, The Huffington Post and of course, for Magnify’s corporate blog.

My favorite qualities about Steve are his humor, passion, kindness, optimism and originality. All rolled up, those qualities make Steve a visionary. Watch his fantasy application video below, and you’ll hear some of Steve’s ideas for how online video will grow in the years to come. Let’s crowd-source it baby!

Tomorrow evening I’m joining Marian Salzman, Peter Shankman and 100 of PepsiCo’s top communicators for a Twitter conversation about global trends. I hope you can login and join us for part of the time. It’s from 7.30 – 9 pm EST tomorrow, Wednesday April 1st. Sign up now. The hashtag is #peptrends.

How cool to have so many smart people talking together on Twitter about important issues that face marketers (and consumers) today. BTW – Marian is a internationally recognized “trend spotter.” Here’s a little taste of what’s to come. We’re excited to hear your thoughts and feedback tomorrow night.

From Marian:

Right now, consumers are being shaken awake to confront a pretty gross reality: We (and our natural resources) are overextended, overweight and overwhelmed. We are spent in more ways than one. Our reaction has been to pull back and say less, less, less. We crave a simpler existence. The push away from megaconsumption is the megatrend of the moment. Thrift is high prestige. Credit feels faulty and uncertain while cash is solid and sensible.

At the same time, technology is booming, and short is what’s happening. Social media is the communicator in a time of less is more. It brings far-flung people together cheaply and instantly around a shared interest. It gives us all the power to make news and break news, share thoughts and share links. Short and simple can say so much. That’s why I’ve chosen Twitter as a tool for our talk Wednesday. Short is smart and powerful. It sparks conversations, connects thinkers, shrinks distances and engenders change.

Some trends I’ll be talking and tweeting about:

•Total Convergence: Old familiar boundaries and categories are dissolving, blurring black and white into shades of gray. Private with public; fact with fiction; news with entertainment; young with old; life with work; home with office; offline with online.

•Tapping Social Media: The potential of social media as a business asset is hardly yet determined. Smart companies are now leveraging switched-on (younger) employees to help understand and shape it.

•Local Is Now Global: Today, home is the safest yet most exotic destination of all. You’re always just a click away from anywhere in the world. And just down the road you can find people and cuisine from every continent.

•A Return to Value and Values: What’s it really worth and how is it really important to me? These are the questions that rein in our impulse purchases in times of recessionary living. Followed by thoughts of, which stores or brands will supply what I need?

Check out the neat twtvite widget!

Tara Hunt has so much whuffie, it exudes from her online and off. And that’s why she is one of my favorite people.  She brings her generosity and creativity to all that she does.  Tara and I have been working together in this industry for awhile now. I’ve gotten to know her as a friend and colleague. A true geek girl, with a girly girl spirit and an intellect that let’s her navigate diverse topics with easy. From co-working to developer platforms and APIs, to identity politics – Tara always adds value and ideas that shine.  Check out her vision for a fantasy application that frees you from “house arrest” and let us know what you think!

For those of you that know him, you know David Armano loves wearing his cowboy hat. When I met David for the first time in NYC, he had his hat on. Not typical for a good Italian guy from Long Island. Be sure to read his very entertaining bio here.

As his blog, “Logic & Emotion,” hints, David approaches the creative sphere with laser-focused strategic thinking. His fantasy mobile application represents this dichotomy. It both delights for its playfulness and hits on a real business opportunity that taps into people who LOVE THEIR PETS! Be sure to watch the video and comment on Magnify (btw – it’s a rare appearance WITHOUT his cowboy hat).