Welcome to the 89th Feature of Friday’s Informal Films!

Oh, hi! Welcome to the 89th feature of Friday’s Informal Films! Did you know the number 89 is the ISBN identifier for books published in Korea?  I’m assuming that’s South Korea…?

2013 Google I/O Conference Highlights

By the time you watch this video, Google’s annual “I/O” Conference is either wrapping up or has ended.  So what did the Googlers reveal…?

If you’re invested in Google’s ecosystem in any way – like we are here at Ramblin Jackson – the past several days brought interesting announcements from the search engine powerhouse.  The primary announcement revolved around the ever-popular subject of music.  Say hello to yet another music streaming service – Google Music All Access.  So what’s different about this one?  Not a lot, really.  But for $10, you can add features to Google’s free “Google Music” service that allow you to discover new artists, choose genre-based channels to listen to and share with friends.  Android phones or desktop computers only for now.  If you’re curious, check out a 30-day free trial by searching for Google Music All Access.

Other announcements at I/O included Google Now voice search coming to the desktop, a preview of Google’s next version of Maps and further pushes for photo lovers to check out and actually start using Google+ – a feature which will automatically auto-correct images uploaded to the social network.

For much, much more on Google I/O, check out our show notes for a link to video of all the announcements.  And you thought you’d go outside this weekend…

Don’t Get a Lawn Mower DUI

Tis the season, but do you just hate mowing your lawn?  Would you prefer to use your riding mower as transportation?  Just don’t drink or do drugs if you do.

New York resident Scott McKenzie didn’t follow that advice and – after riding his mower to a nearby friend’s house to cut the grass, they decided to then smoke some… and then have a few drinks.  Around 11:30pm, it was time to leave and McKenzie fired up his mower and rode on down the road.  All was OK until a police cruiser passed the 26-year old on his mower and noticed he couldn’t cut a straight line.

So, love it or hate it – mowing the lawn while under the influence is illegal.  Now you know.

How To Format Your Email Marketing for Mobile Viewers

5 Mobile Email Marketing Tips

Did you open your email… on your smartphone… before you even got out of bed?

Don’t answer that question. But with 43% of emails now being opened on mobile devices, here’s how you can make your email marketing mobile friendly.

1) Keep It Simple

Keep your email marketing short, sweet, and compact. If someone opens your email and sees 1,000 words of content, chances are they won’t read any of it at all.

2) Use a Single-Column Format

Sidebars are great for extra little bits of info… but they don’t render very well on mobile devices. Using a single column will help insure that people can view all of your email content without it being squished… which brings me to our next point

3) Don’t use tiny font!

Make sure that your font is large enough to be easily viewed on mobile devices.

4) Don’t use too many images

On many smartphones, the email inbox won’t automatically load images so that it doesn’t consume data. Make sure that you don’t overload your email with graphics — and don’t just use images — so that people actually get the message.

5) Keep them in a mobile environment

Lastly, make sure your website is mobile-friendly. If the purpose of your email is to drive traffic to your website — and 45% of emails are opened on mobile devices — make sure your website is mobile friendly.

If you need help getting started with email marketing or mobile web design, let us know. That’s what we do!

Welcome to the 88th Friday’s Informal Film!

Oh, hi! Welcome to the 88th feature of Friday’s Informal Films! Did you know that a piano is sometimes called an “eighty eight” because the number of keys it has?

Well just like most pianos, today’s show is going to be a little out of tune… and a little magical.

I’m up in Glenwood Springs at the Colorado Chamber Executives Conference, so I’m recording today’s show on my iPhone. I hope you enjoy.

Hard Drives Support Local Economy in Longmont, CO

Do you love hard drives as much as Chris Woodley?  He always seems to be buying them with all of the video work we do!  Well, now at least we can feel better about supporting the local economy.

Dublin, Ireland based Seagate Technology make hard drives.  Lots of ‘em.  In fact, chances are pretty good you’ve used one of their drives recently.  Today’s video was even edited on a Seagate drive!  Chris Woodley loves them, their performance and dependability.

Well, Seagate also has a local connection.  Since 2000, Longmont has been home to one of their design centers – where new, nifty, super-fast drives are created.  And with business going well, the company recently announced they’re remodeling to make room for an expected 150 new employees!  So now, when you get one of their new drives that allows booting up your machine 4x faster, it just might be one of your neighbors who made that happen!  Way to go, Seagate!

Video Game Controlled By Cello!

When I was a wee one, I loved the music in video games. Zelda in particular had fantastic music, and I always looked forward to going underground in Mario.

But what if instead of music in video games accompanying what was happening in the game… you actually controlled the game with a stringed instrument? With Cello Fortress, it seems that Dutch cellist and programmer, Joost van Dongen has done just that.

Cello Fortress is a unique combination of a game and a live music performance. A cellist defends a fortress by improvising on his cello. Melodies control the guns, dissonant notes activate the flamethrowers. Players from the audience use game controllers to steer their tanks and attack the fortress. The cellist plays live music, while at the same time controlling the game to be a fun challenge for the players.

Check it out at cellofortress.com

Track Your Mileage with Drivealog’s Easy-To-Use App!

I love driving. It’s a great time to listen to music and audiobooks, and it’s always fun going to new places. But keeping track of my mileage is always a pain. I hate paper.

I just met Dave Tabor up here at the Chamber Executives Conference, and he developed a sweet iPhone app called Drivealog that tracks your mileage for you from your smartphone’s calendar. It’s currently only available on iPhone, but an Android version is in the works.

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Welcome to the 87th Friday’s Informal Film!

Oh, hi! Welcome to the 87th edition…Did you know that Wenger Swiss Army Knife version XXL is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the world’s most multi-functional penknife with 87 tools?

Like a good Swiss Army knife, today’s show is going to be there when you need it. In your pocket… on your smartphone… on the internets?

Get it done with FlipTask

Do you ever wish you had a personal assistant take care of those tedious little tasks you have no time for? Sure, Siri and Evi can text your boss to tell him you’ll be ten minutes late, but they can’t actually mow your yard or pick up someone at the airport for you, now can they?

FlipTask is coming to the rescue with this innovative, errand-runnning concept that connects people with little time in their hands to those with more open schedules, looking to make some money, in a task poster and task runner symbiotic relationship.

CU-Boulder Graduate and start-up founder Aric Franzmeier came up with the idea after considering the dynamics of the local job market in a town that hosts 30,000 plus students, competing for part-time work at all times. The matchmaking system is currently in place and running, and Franzmeier is determined to continue the refinement of his website operations through user feedback, with the goal of expanding to Denver next.

Want to know more? Visit www.fliptask.com for details, and check out the article in the Boulder County Business Report.

Unplug!  Get away from your phone!  Go to “Camp Grounded” for adults…

Have you gotten the blues for the pre-cell phone era recently? Are you finding yourself in need of time-off to reconnect with your inner child? ‘Digital Detox’ Summer Camp might just be what you’re looking for!

Inspired by a scouts-model camp, this 4 day adult retreat in California aims to give heavy tech-users in a variety of fields a break from their everyday environments, by providing them with fun filled outdoor activities, sports and games, that are sure to bring out dear childhood memories.

Creativity, friendship and worry-free attitudes are all encouraged, but some no-no’s of the program include: work-talk, age-telling, name-giving and on a more grown-up note, drug and alcohol consumption.

Since “Camp Grounded” was announced, Digital Detox has been confronted with a high-demand of participants, so if you like what you’re hearing and would like to re-join with your tech-free self, you can add your name to a waiting list for upcoming camps.

Add Video to LinkedIn Profile!

This week’s pro tip is to make your LinkedIn profile even better with video and imagery.

On Wednesday LinkedIn rolled out the Professional Portfolio — the ability to add videos, photos, slideshows, and other imagery to your profile. This is a great way to share your design, photography, or video portfolio, as well as promotional and case study videos.

To add visual content to your LinkedIn profile, select “edit” on your profile then follow the prompts in your “Summary,” “Experience” and “Education” sections. Other members can also “like” or comment on what you’ve posted.

See our show notes for a link to LinkedIn’s blog post that has a complete list of supported media providers.

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Welcome to the 86th feature of Friday’s Informal Films!

Oh, hi! Welcome to the 86th edition of our show. Did you know that “eighty-sixed” when used as a verb in American English, is a slang term for getting rid of something, ejecting someone, or refusing service.  If this show isn’t good, we invite you to 86 it!

Where do you get the “news”… on Twitter?

Does Twitter scare you?  It does CNN’s president, who calls the social network a “frenemy.”

But why is Jeff Zucker so scared?  Because Twitter is fast becoming the go-to source for news as big stories break.  It wasn’t long ago that people watched CNN for the latest and, while many still do, the paradigm is shifting – quickly.  The most recent example was last week’s bombings in Boston, as breaking news played out with greater immediacy on Twitter, not TV.  Some are now even calling Twitter the “new CNN.”

That’s why “the network uses, relies on, and is scared by, social media,” Zucker said last week.

So what to do?  During a lunch last week, Zucker revealed the network will quickly begin more heavily investing in digital. More than just new programming styles, it could mean a complete overhaul of how news is delivered.  All of this begs the question of how accuracy will be affected.  CNN has been roundly lambasted for getting things wrong last week and several times in the months previous.  Is the fight to be first – competing with Twitter’s immediacy – compromising journalistic integrity?

Can we ever go back…?

Let us know what you think.  Where do you turn when new breaks?  Let us know in the comments…

The World’s First Braille Smartphone

With their amazing, bright screens and graphics heavy apps, it would stand to reason that smartphones aren’t very useful for the blind in our community.  Well, one company is attempting to change that with the first “Braille phone.”

Designer Sumit Dagar describes the phone as “the world’s first Braille smartphone … a companion more than a phone.”  It uses Braille-like depressions and elevations in the screen to allow blind people to use a variety of apps.  One of its most interesting features is its ability to use a built-in camera to scan text and convert it into Braille.  In the works for about 3 years, there’s no word on exact availability, but it could be as soon as the end of this year.

Start blogging for SEO!

Websites with blogs typically get 50% more web traffic than websites that don’t. Why? Because you can share your blog on social media and email marketing to drive traffic back to your website, AND Google really likes it when you regularly post content. Blogging is one of the single best things you can do for your SEO.

You could blog about new products or services, press releases, company news, tips… really whatever you want, and it’s much easier than you’d think.

One thing you’ll need to decide is if you want to host the blog yourself — and own your own domain — or use a free service such as WordPress.com, blogger, or other free blog sites.

We recommend hosting the blog yourself so that you can own it and brand your URL, and we help businesses build WordPress websites so they can have their own blog built into their website. Feel free to contact us if you’d like help getting started, and also check out this amazing resource, hotostartablog.com for tons of free advice.

A couple of great resources for getting started include howtostartablog.com and startbloggingonline.com.

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Welcome to the 85th feature of Friday’s Informal Films! 

Oh, hi! Welcome to the 85th edition of our show. Did you know that E85 fuel is 85% ethanol and 15% conventional gasoline? Well today’s show is 100% excellent, so be sure to share it on Facebook after you watch it.

Google Glass Ready to Ship for Some Explorers

Do you want some of those weird Google glasses? If you went to last year’s Google I/O, you might be getting your hands on some soon.

Google Glass developers couldn’t wait to get these babies to the hands of their project believers, challengers, and trendsetters, who attended last year’s Google I/O and signed up to receive the very first wave of  HMD wearable computers.

After a successful production run, product beta testers were recently emailed by The Glass Team with details about the shipping of their highly anticipated orders. The first ever of their kind, these glasses are expected to revolutionize the way we see the world through the looking glass, and we can’t wait to see if they’ll live up to the hype!

Are you excited for this next step in modern technology? Let us know in the comment section!

Amazon Acquires Siri-Challenger ‘Evi’ for $26 Million

Are you bumming because your iphone 4 doesn’t come with a personal assistant? Don’t sweat it! While you might not be able to get Apple’s protégé Siri, there’s still a pretty lady available at the app store that will attempt to answer any questions that might pop into your head.

Evi, a conversational search engine app from developer True Knowledge, was recently acquired by Amazon for $26 million, with the aim of rivaling Apple’s voice recognition system in their Kindle fire and Amazon’s very own smartphone project.

Launched last year, this computerized assistant offers a full range of information comparable to Siri’s, and is free to download for iOS users.

How to use List Segmentation in Email Marketing

This weeks pro tip will help you send the right marketing message to the right people.

A key part of effective email marketing is strategic list segmentation. If your business services different types of clients, group each type into its own contact list so you can send them information relevant to their specific interests.

Let’s say you have a tire store and you have three types of clients – Monster truck drivers, moms with volvos, and commercial truckers.

The moms with volvos could care less about your monster truck tire sale… and visa versa — so by having your customers grouped into lists based on their interests, your email marketing will be more effective and you won’t bother your monster truck folks with lame, safe, Volvo mom content.

Curious about what time of day to send your email marketing, or which subject line is most effective? By having multiple contact lists, you can also do A/B testing to experiment with your subject lines and send times to see which one gets the best open rate.

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Welcome to the 84th feature of Friday’s Informal Films!

Oh, hi!  Welcome to the 84th episode of Friday’s Informal Films!  Did you know the number 84 is the group identifier for books published in Spain?  Viva España!

PC Sales At Record Low for Q1 2013

Steve Jobs talked about the “Post-PC” era several years ago.  People laughed.  Then came last quarter’s sales figures…

It was the worst quarter for PC sales since they started keeping track in 1994!  This despite a somewhat brighter general economic outlook and more new models of PCs running Windows 8.  And this isn’t just happening in the US – PC shipments are down significantly across the world compared to a year ago.  So what’s to blame?  Well, it’s that device you most likely have in your pocket or purse – the smartphone – combined with tablet sales which continue to surge.

Ironically, some analysts are actually blaming Windows 8.  According to Bob O’Donnell, Program Vice President at IDC – a technology market intelligence analyst group, “At this point, unfortunately, it seems clear that the Windows 8 launch not only failed to provide a positive boost to the PC market, but appears to have slowed the market.”

So, are you still using a PC – desktop or laptop – or have you abandoned it for more mobile methods of computing?  Let us know!

Hyperlapse Photography

Sometimes on a Friday, you just want to sit back and watch a cool web video – I mean, besides ours…  Well, this week, we have a treat for you – hyperlapse photography!

What’s that, you might ask? Well, take a look!

True hyperlapse videos combine time lapse photography with controlled camera movement – often over huge distances – at unreal speed.  They’re pretty cool, but tough to pull of and require expensive, specialized equipment.  But now, you can use Google street view images to make your own!  Not quite as amazing as the real thing, but – as the video you’ve been watching shows – still capable of some spectacular results. Best of all, it’s free!

Hyperlapse Free Web Tool: http://hyperlapse.tllabs.io/

Send People Gifts via Facebook!

A few weeks ago, Jack turned 27. Lots of people wished him happy birthday on Facebook, but two friends actually sent him coffee and champagne — yes, a bottle of champagne was mailed to our office — via Facebook Gifts.

Click here to learn more about how to get your business’ products on Facebook Gifts.

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Welcome to the 83rd feature of Friday’s Informal Films!

Oh, hi! Welcome to the 83rd edition of our show.  Did you know that, over his crooning career, Frank Sinatra had 83 albums on the Billboard Top 200?  Guess he really did do it his way…

Make Custom Posters on Your iOS Device with Phoster

Great looking poster designs are just 3 easy steps away with this time saving app. First, select free stylish template. Second, edit your phoster image. Third, share your posters via Facebook, twitter, tumbler and email or save your posters on your gallery.

What’s a Phoster image you say?

Phoster for iphone and ipad, makes it fun to create graphic posters by putting our visual communication skills to the test. It provides over 30 editable templates to choose from, giving idevice users plenty of room to play with design elements, insert their own text, and add images from their Instagram account or photo library. Once the design is in place, you can even choose from 20 awesome filter effects to finish off your masterpiece. And voilà! Admire it, share it and fool everyone on Facebook and Twitter by claiming those design classes really paid off.

What if someone paid you to workout?

Now that Spring is here, many of us are focused on getting or staying in shape – and for all sorts of reasons.  But sometimes, it’s difficult to stay motivated, right?  Well, what if someone PAID you to work-out?  Listen up…

An app for your smartphone called “GymPact” wants to help you stay motivated.  And it’s using cold, hard cash to do it.  How does it work?  When you sign up, you create an account and attach your credit card – much like you would with iTunes or Amazon.  Then, you commit to exercising a certain number of days each week and – if you do – they pay you!  Sound too good to be true?  Well, there IS one slight catch.  You see, if you make that pact to work out and you don’t, not only will you not get paid, you’ll have to PAY!

Part of the motivation to continue working out is GymPact’s ability to debit your same credit card account a certain amount you choose – from $5 – $50 – for each workout you miss.  That’s how they can afford to pay people to work out – by charging those who don’t!  But how do they know you didn’t work out?  Well, each exercise session you log uses your device’s GPS to verify your location (like, the gym) and the length of time you spent there.

Interested in giving it a try?  Go to www.gym-pact.com to check it out for yourself.  Our own Chris Woodley just signed up for 3-days a week and has agreed to pay $5 for any missed workout!

Optimizing your website just like learning to fish

This week’s pro tip may be cheesy, but it’s true. Optimizing your website is a lot like learning how to fish.

You know a lot of times SEO is a lot like fishing, because before you make a cast, you need to do research. You need to figure out which bugs are those trout eating… and what keywords are your customers do your customers actually search?

Sometimes you’ve got to just reach in the water and pick up a rock to see what bugs are on the other side of it… or use the Google Keyword Research Tool and check out some of your competitors page title tags…

And just like there’s more to fly fishing than identifying flies, there’s a lot more to SEO than just knowing your keywords. Sometimes its best to hire a professional guide to help you get started. We’d love to help you with this, so check out our SEO services and let us know if you have any questions.

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Welcome to the 82nd Feature of Friday’s Informal Films!

Oh, hi! Welcome to the 82nd edition of our show. Hey sports fans, did you know that both the NBA and NHL have 82 regular-season games?

Dex One Corp. + SuperMedia Inc. File for Bankruptcy

You know how a while ago we told you that no one is using the phone book anymore? This forced companies in the phone book industry to shift into digital marketing… But has it worked? Unfortunately for Dex, it hasn’t.

Dex One Corp. (DEXO) and SuperMedia Inc. (SPMD), two dying phone book companies who also offer Internet marketing, have announced that they will each file for bankruptcy as part of their merger.

“The merger will enable the combined company to benefit from improved operating scale, significant synergies and enhanced cash flow,” Dex One General Counsel Mark W. Hianik Said in a court report.

Do you think this will work? Is it possible companies based on old methodologies to completely reinvent themselves? Can you think of one? Let us know!

The New and Improved Umbrella!

Soon all that snow we’ve been having will be replaced with the sweet smell of a rainy day.  But rain can also be a pain – hey, that rhymed!  The umbrella hasn’t seen a major redesign since the 1850’s…until now!

French student, Quentin Debaene, decided to reinvent the lowly umbrella for the year 2050 and recently submitted his entry for the James Dyson – as in Dyson vacuum technology – Award.  The concept came about because – as Debaene says – with current umbrella designs the fabric gets wet, wet umbrellas create puddles of water when drying, umbrellas flip inside out under harsh wind and umbrellas can collide in public.

So, his futuristic design uses a dome of compressed air to literally blow the raindrops away before they can reach you – problem solved.  Well, not exactly.  His design, while ingenious, is probably still a ways away, until the tiny motors he suggests are actually able to be manufactured at a reasonable price.  But still, for the old fashioned umbrella, your days might be numbered.

You know, our own Chris Woodley actually had a similar idea for car windshields!  Yes, tired of the skittering, squeaking windshield wipers – which always seem to impair the driver’s vision at the worst times – he wants to know why high pressure jets of air couldn’t be blown across a windshield to prevent any rain or snow from ever hitting it.  Well, then why don’t you get to work on that, Chris…?

Collect eSignatures with DocuSign

This week’s pro tip will help you get your agreements signed faster without the headache of fax machines, scanners, or any printing at all.

Agreements are a pain in the butt. As one potential client said to us — and we decided not to do business this guy because of this — “Contracts get in the way of good business.” We couldn’t disagree more. Having a service agreement makes sure that both parties know what they’re getting, who’s getting paid when, etc. Always get it in writing!

DocuSign is most widely used eSignature. With DocuSign, you can sign anytime, anywhere on any Internet-enabled device, and your agreements are saved in cloud.

You can check it out at DocuSign.com. We’re thrilled to start using this at Ramblin Jackson to start saving some paper. Want to see wht it’s like to use DocuSign? You should hire us.

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Friday’s Informal Films #81

Oh, hi!  It’s Friday. Welcome to the 81st feature of Friday’s Informal Films. Did you know that 81 is the code for international direct dial phone calls to Japan?

Klout for Business Aims to Help Brands Reach Social Influencers

How much influence do you have on social media? How much Klout does your business have online, and how do you know who has influence?

Klout, the company that provides social media analytics to measure a user’s influence across their social networks just released an update that will make those previously arbitrary social media scores a bit more relevant to businesses.

On Wednesday, Klout released Klout for Business, a new program that offers tools designed specifically to help businesses such as Klout Perks and audience insights, to help you empower these respected influencers to share about your brand.

You can use Klout for Business to find and identify bloggers and social media users who are influential in your industry to see what kind of content your target market finds valuable. This could also be a great tool to find potential marketing partners for your news releases and product launches.

Backpack Charger Revives 3 Mobile Devices On The Go

When you’re out and about, it’s easy to run out of juice for all your tech.  Smartphones, tablets, portable fax machines…  Well, what if you could carry a power station with you…?

A Kickstarter campaign is aiming to do just that with the Energi Backpack by Tylt (pronounced tilt).  While we couldn’t help think of this scene from Ghostbusters after watching their video, it’s a great idea for those on the go.

Featuring a 10,400 mAh lithium-ion battery, it can charge three devices at once via USB ports.  According to the manufacturer, that’s enough power to charge the average smartphone 4 times and a tablet once before the backpack itself needs a recharge.

It’s also TSA-approved and features numerous pockets and cable-routing options for your devices. Want one? TYLT is currently raising funds on Kickstarter to fund the first round of production. Backers who pledge at least $99 will get the bag early.

When should you post on Social Media?

Before you sign off for the week, have you scheduled updates for the weekend? This week’s Pro Tip will help you keep your social media influence going even while you’re taking some time away from work.

A recent study shows that brands who post on the weekend typically get  17% higher engagement than posts during the week. I know, I know – you don’t work on the weekend – and me neither, supposedly, but here are a few tools you can use to schedule your posts.

1) HootSuite

Hootsuite is a free social media dashboard that allows you to manage multiple social networks from one place. Best of all, you can shorten links with their ow.lys, and then schedule your posts to go out at a later date.

But don’t use Hootsuite to schedule posts to Facebook. Scheduling posts to Facebook through third party apps hurts your EdgeRank, which is Facebook’s newsfeed algorithm that determines if people will actually see your posts.

2) Facebook Scheduler

Instead, schedule your posts from within Facebook by clicking on that little clock in the bottom left corner of your status update.

Using tools like HootSuite and the Facebook scheduler tool are great ways to keep your social media presence going even when you’re not there at night, on weekends, or while you’re on vacation.

What Social Media tools do you like to use? Post a comment to let us know.

Have a Fantastic Weekend!
And that’s all the time we have for today. Have a great weekend, and we’ll look forward to seeing you next Friday!

We had a real blast producing this promo video Don Moore, aka the the Love Dude. The Love Dude is a celebrant and lover of life, as well as a writer, speaker, and performer. Prior to the near death experience mentioned in this video, Don was Ramblin Jackson’s business coach. Although he has shifted his professional focus from business coaching to the Love Dude’s offerings, he continually a great resource to us with business advice.

Don is a phenomenal writer, and I strongly suggest that you check out his website, Facebook, and Twitter page for daily inspirations of love.