Internet Geek Girl

I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again.. Chris Brogan is prolific.  He works very hard to help build the social media landscape, but always makes time for individuals, the community and most importantly to give back to others in an organized way that shows that power of this medium (check out his monthly efforts for charitable causes – impressive!).  In addition to producing a well-read, well-written blog, Chris is President of New Marketing Labs, a social media agency.  With the love and support of his family, Chris crosses the continent helping business and marketers understand these new tools and make good use of them. Did I mention that he is a heck of a nice guy as well?

Chris’s fantasy mobile application imagines a world where there is “meta-data” in the air around us! We are not that far off!  Mobile networks could allow organizations (companies, schools, non-profits) to “annotate” locations and allow users to access that information via GPS based services.  And of course, users could control it all via settings for when, where and which type of “data offering” they would like. What do you think? Would you “opt-in” for this kind of information?

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!

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!

It’s FollowFriday. And if you are not following @gapingvoid by now, you should be. Hugh Macleod is one of my favorite people in the whole world. He’s brilliant, kind and genuinely in love with Texas. I proudly carry my “Jersey girl” hugh card with me wherever I go. You can read lots about Hugh online and view all his great work for Microsoft, Stormhoek, his lithographs and 4×8 foot paintings (he just finished Desert Manhattan).  His newsletter, Crazy Deranged Fool is probably the best way to keep up with this prolific artist-cum-marketer.

When I met Hugh he had just landed in Silicon Valley from Scotland and was beginning the journey that would lead him to Alpine, Texas. I haven’t been there, but when I do go, the first place I will stop is Harry’s (seriously – check out Harry’s webpage, you will crack up).

Hugh’s fantasy application is representative of his passion and empathy – an app focused on enhancing his experience as an artist that can be used by artists everywhere to help them achieve their dreams.  Like the title of his new book implies, “Ignore Everybody, and 39 other keys to Creativity,” Hugh’s message helps others tap into their own brilliance and unleash it on the world. I know it’s true, because, he did that for me!

Here’s to Hugh.  Now go rank and comment on his fantasy app (especially if you are an artist).

During SXSW (full recap here),  I had the pleasure of interviewing nine of the webs most intriguing, creative, thought leaders.  In the TechSet Blogger Lounge (hosted by me and Brian Solis), sponsored by Windows Mobile, Jen Myronuk (my producer) and I sat down with our dedicated colleagues to talk about their latest projects, industry trends and their take on SXSW. Those video interviews will be up soon.  More importantly for this post, they each also took 2 minutes to tell us what mobile application they would love to see created on a Windows Mobile phone – their “fantasy app.” These videos are live and you can watch them here right now. The best part is – Windows Mobile is going to build one of them (as determined by popularity and feasibility)!

For the next 9 days, I’m going to feature one video per day on my blog (including weekends).  But I’m also going to add a funny story to the post – sharing something special about these individuals (who I am lucky enough to consider my FRIENDS and colleagues). Real Friends, the ones that call you in Real Life!

And, I will give away an AT&T Fuze by HTC to the individual who writes the most thoughtful comments (1comment for each video) on the Magnify site. It’s a brand new phone, (but it’s unwrapped, sorry). So check back daily (or just go put a comment up on Magnify now).  Either way, I recommend that you watch these nine funny, fascinating videos from my friends….

Charlene Li (@charleneli)

Hugh Macleod (@gapingvoid)

David Armano (@armano)

Tara Hunt (@missrogue)

Steve Rosenbaum (@magnify)

Dave McClure (@davemcclure)

Chris Brogan (@chrisbrogan) – Please note – Chris stepped in for Scoble who was unable to fit it in during the show b/c of BIG exicing news and mobs of people coming after him.

Erin Kotecki Vest (@queenofspain)

Deb Schultz (@debs)