Brad Slavin » Just ! Me

Disney Social Action – Give a Day, Get a Day

Brad Slavin — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 15:58:49 +0000

Lisa shared a website with me last night about social action, volunteering and of all places Disneyland. The meat of the matter is -

Disney wants to inspire a million people to volunteer a day of service in their own communities and in exchange Disney will give each of them a 1-day, 1-theme park ticket for free! Now Disney has always been about community – think “it’s a small world after all” but this is the best example of social action from a major corporation that I have seen in a while… If you are a facebook friend of mine you have seen my Disney pics – if not, watch this to get a hint of what they are offering.

You can get all the info at the Give a Day, Get a Day site.

The Darwin Awards for 2009 Are Out….

Brad Slavin — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 00:23:45 +0000

My rules for keeping out of the running..

Use dynamite sparingly
Look before you leap
Don’t jump back in the lake
Leave the balloons to the movie Up.

http://www.darwinawards.com

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Fire Extinguisher for Flame Wars

Brad Slavin — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 05:40:15 +0000

Where was this post three weeks ago? http://www.bitrebels.com/geek/do-not-feed-the-trolls/ A great article about the love hate relationship that trolls have with the Internet community in general. The Collegehumor video is a must watch…if you spend part of the time trying to keep up with the terminology, be thankful. If you don’t know what they are rambling on about, it just means that you have a life.

Traffic Information About the Video

Brad Slavin — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 21:52:16 +0000

I have had some emails requesting some insight into where the traffic is coming from. Well it started with Engadget yesterday and then spread to twitter and a few other sites. I am not really sure of where all the traffic is coming from because youtube does not have really good analytics – but here is a screencap of the bit.ly stats. Thanks for the folks at http://skitch.com/ who make this oooh so easy to do. (no not paid, nor sponsored – I just like their application)

Click for the bigger image.

Screencap from Youtube

Lots of Youtube Email in the Inbox…

Brad Slavin — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 21:28:05 +0000

Now that’s a lot of mail in the inbox… Last count 1740 video comments, almost 400 additional contacts. Not bad.

Comment Conversion Rate for Youtube

Brad Slavin — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 20:25:54 +0000

I was reviewing the comment to views conversion rate on the youtube video and it really sucks. I think it works out to be .006% views to posts. Not complaining, but on the blog the numbers are yet unknown. I have started tracking in GA using the technique found at http://www.tdcreative.net/blog/how-to-track-wordpress-signups-and-comments-with-google-analytics/ but if anyone has a better method let me know.

Update – Just made the edits to track submisions, and I hope nothing broke. However if you need to reach me, just send email.

Microsoft Store in Mission Viejo

Brad Slavin — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 16:56:49 +0000

Last night on our way to a birthday party at the Derby Deli & Dueling Piano Bar – Lisa and I stopped in at The Shops at Mission Viejo mall to kill some time. Traffic from San Diego was a little hectic so I figured that some time spend doing some retail therapy might do some good.

As we walked into the mall I was confronted with the early signs of Christmas and while the prospect of walking the mall with “deck the halls” at my back brought a grimace to my face but the little kids running by the well lit displays made me remember what the holidays are all about.

Walking down the main corridor of the mall I saw a huge white banner that read “Microsoft Store – Now Open”. I guess I have been disconnected from the platform for quite a while because I did not even realize that Microsoft had store but I have heard so many great things about Windows 7 I just had to check it out. I half expected the store to be a bland uninspiring cheap knockoff of an Apple Store, but WOW was I in for a surprise.

From the moment you first step through the door you can feel it, something is special, something is electric in the air. So many smiling faces, so many people engaged and fully committed to the experience and NO I am not just taking about the employees the nearly sixty shoppers in the store were having a riveting experience interacting with what is clearly the future.

Words really can’t do the experience justice so here are some videos that I created on my new Kodak ZI8 in 1080p mode.

Project Natal is the next level of user interaction with a computer. I had not even heard about it, I guess like so many other things Microsoft it looks to be game and life changing.

We have all seen the previews of the interactive table but I actually had the chance to “interact” with it. The table uses 3D bar codes to determine what object has been laid down. I tried taking a picture of the bar code with my phone and displaying the picture to see if I could clone it, but no luck there.

Mid way through our visit the entire store broke out into song. Now I have seen this gimmick before at Coldstone Creamery and I know how they have been criticized in the media for it, but here it did not seem forced nor contrived, I would honestly say that this was the staff letting go, having some fun and not taking the brand all to seriously.

I was absolutely floored by this experience, Microsoft has made a bold move to capture new market share. I ordered a copy of Windows 7 Ultimate edition – I have been a hard core Mac person for the past five years, I completely bypassed the Windows Vista experience but something is telling me that I am at a precipice looking directly into the future. Oh, and I just canceled my order for the 27inch iMac quad, I need a little time to think it over.
Its easy to see that Microsoft primarily is a software company committed to changing the world through technical innovation and that Apple is a hardware company that is changing the world through design innovations. They need each other to push the limits of their own visions.

Earth Class Mail: A better way to handle physical mail

Brad Slavin — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 06:23:26 +0000

Earth Class Mail is a service that I have been looking at for a long time as a solution to my bad habit of NEVER checking my mailbox.

They have a system that handles physical mail via email it is called Earth Class Mail brlliant! On more than one occasion I have had to visit the post office because my mailbox filled up and they “impounded” the mail and halted delivery. Ouch!

The majority of my bills are electronic, I get the statement, I use my bill pay software to pay the bill and I never have to touch paper! No spam, no junk mail, no credit card offers, no coupon packs. And after a while you also get no checks from clients because the mail carrier stops delivering the mail… Ouch.

After picking up the huge box of paper (time after time) I realized that 99% of the volume and almost 100% of the weight was just junk…trash…(well actually recycling) but its a problem. There is just no reason that there should be so much junk. The other issue is that with all of that crap, its easy to miss the important pieces of mail trapped in the folds of the local coupon books.

The other reason to consider an all digital delivery for your mail is to protect against identity theft or if you are a vagabond and like to travel. This way you can get your physical mail sent to your Inbox wherever you have access to your email. Check them out – I will and I will keep you updated. Once again, Earth Class Mail for handling your physical mail via email.

Oh you can also view it on my cell phone.

LinkedIn.com Milestone

Brad Slavin — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 04:01:41 +0000

Last night I hit a personal milestone on the social networking site Linkedin. I have 300 business connections and contacts from all over the globe. I have been a member for about 3 years and with my new Online Data Backup venture I hope to get out and meet more people in the upcoming years.

I have written about Linkenin before, So you’re Linkedin. Who cares

I forgot to vote…

Brad Slavin — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 03:54:00 +0000

Perhaps it was my lack of desire, perhaps it was the late night of blogging…no matter what the excuse – make sure that you don’t forget to vote.

Watch this video to see how important each and every vote can be.

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