Geoff Gaspar writes a blog.

Meebo's "Drag to Share" feature is way cool!

2009-09-10T16:56:00.002-04:00

Just saw this cool “drag to share” feature on Mashable when reading http://mashable.com/2009/09/10/facebook-mentions/.

You can click+drag an image and then drop it into your choice of sharing platform (i.e. Facebook, Twitter, Email, or IM).

Here’s Mashable’s article on how to use it…

Here’s the Meebo site.

So easy. So cool.

hipsterpreneur - did I just make up a word?

2009-07-28T18:35:00.005-04:00

Ok, until someone tells me otherwise, I think I created a new word: hipsterpreneur.

Hipsterpreneur by definition: a hipster by attire/attitude, with the spirit/drive of an entrepreneur.

Hipsterpreneur in context:

Me: when are you coming to SF to visit?

@RachelleLacroix: my BF is still writing his thesis

Me: he'll be inspired by the hipsterpreneur spirit of SF.

Hipsterpreneur in real life:

See Kevin Rose. (photo credit: Read The Smiths)

Social media, The end of the Gutenberg era

2009-04-04T13:19:00.003-04:00

Ok, Richard Stacy wrote an article called: "Gutenberg and the social media revolution: an investigation of the world where it costs nothing to distribute information."

This article was published back in November of last year, but apparently I missed the memo.

BUT, I've only read the abstract and I'm loving it... so this will be my Saturday reading. Check it out.

"This article seeks briefly to expose the extent to which the Gutenberg principle has shaped our world before turning its attention to the likely characteristics of the post-Gutenberg era - the world of what is currently called social media - identifying both the ways in which organisations will feel its impact and also the ways in which organisations will have to adapt in order to survive where power will not lie in the institutionalised capability to control access to information."

Here's a link to the article as a PDF.

Legal issues with Social Media: It's the message, not the medium

2009-03-20T13:22:00.002-04:00

I listened to a “Social Media and Advocacy Roundtable” discussion hosted by Nielsen Online called: “Communities, Brand Advocates and User-Contribution Systems – Featuring Dell's Richard Binhammer and Intuit's Scott Wilder.”

A couple of my favorite comments, paraphrased, from the call were:

· “The [social media effort at Intuit] is out-servicing the customer service department.” – summary statement by the Nielsen Online moderator

· “This is part of everyone’s business if you want to have a direct relationship with your customers.” –Richard Binhammer at Dell

During the call, though, the Nielsen Online folks kept posing questions that made it seem like social media was an insurmountable challenge for the pharmaceutical industry.

A colleague of mine at Fleishman-Hillard, Mark Senak, recently posted a podcast on his Eye on the FDA blog of a conversation with the FDA’s DDMAC about this very topic. The main point that I took away from that conversation was this:

It’s the message, not the medium.

Marketers/communicators need to make sound/balanced decisions about what goes into their messaging. The medium that carries that message is of less concern than the honesty, integrity, value that the message itself delivers.

More than Money...

2009-02-25T21:08:00.002-05:00

heart-warming video about a guy with an MBA who meets a fisherman with a rich life.

sweet animation from my friends at Free Range Studios. ;-)

BINGO!!

2009-02-25T19:15:00.000-05:00

Go ahead and play Social Marketing Bullshit Bingo!

http://raena.net/social-marketing-bullshit-bingo/

:-P

two hours to download the paper

2009-01-30T12:41:00.003-05:00

Got this from a colleague at work. Amazing.

“Imagine, if you will, sitting down to your morning coffee, turning on your home computer to read the day’s newspaper?! …Well it’s not as farfetched as it may seem.”

http://www.newstechzilla.com/2009/01/a-1981-primitive-internet-report-on-kron/

Best. Carrot Cake. Ever.

2009-01-26T02:01:00.002-05:00

Just in case you were looking for an awesome carrot cake recipe... This is the most amazing carrot cake recipe ever.

Carrot Cake
By Elsie Keller
From the Bicentennial Cook Book, 1776-1976, compiled by the Christian Women’s Fellowship of Radford, Virginia

2 c. white sugar
2 c. plain flour
2 tsp. soda
2 ½ tsp. cinnamon
1 ½ c. Wesson oil
4 eggs
3 c. grated carrots

Combine all ingredients and mix thoroughly. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes. Makes 3 layers. Cool cake completely before frosting with the following frosting.

1 (8 oz.) cream cheese
1 box powdered sugar
2/3 stick butter
1 c. chopped nuts
2 tsp. vanilla

Cream cheese and butter together. Add sugar, vanilla, and nuts. Spread on cooled cake.

Alex Pardee show at Upper Playground

2009-01-22T20:36:00.004-05:00

I went to Upper Playground to see Alex Pardee's awesome art on the walls. His show is called "Letters from Digested Children."

From Upper Playground's Web site:
In “Letters From Digested Children,” Alex Pardee pays homage to the children who are eaten by
monsters. Alex states:

Each year, thousands of children turn up missing. Some are found. But most, unfortunately, are not. Many of the children are victims of abduction, some are runaways, and a large handful of them . . . have been EATEN by monsters. However, the digestive system of many monsters is abnormally slow, and a large portion of these children that have been eaten are still ALIVE, patiently waiting to be saved.
Check it out at the Upper Playground gallery...

Manhole covers...

2008-11-11T19:29:00.000-05:00

It's been a while since I posted one... (I think that means I need to travel more.)

Vote on November 4th

2008-10-29T03:15:00.001-04:00

Larry David gets annoyed at cell phone conversation

2008-10-28T16:27:00.004-04:00

How to handle annoying bluetooth guys

Yes, We Carve!

2008-10-17T07:36:00.001-04:00

Cool BlackBerry App: CitySense

2008-10-16T20:51:00.000-04:00

There's a cool new BlackBerry app called CitySense. It shows you where the "hot" night life spots are... with heat maps (that's hot).

I just downloaded it so I haven't played with it much, yet, but it works by pulling in "Macrosense data" which "massive amounts of aggregate, anonymous location data in real-time. Macrosense is already being used by business people for things like selecting store locations and understanding retail demand."

Barack Obama has a posse

2008-10-16T15:19:00.000-04:00

And I'm in it!

Watch this space: Groovie Kenn sobers up

2008-10-16T01:30:00.004-04:00

My friend Kenn is challenging himself to 100 days of abstaining from drinking.

Follow his adventures: groovie100days.blogspot.com/

(Show starts at the beginning of November)

You can register to vote while you're pooping, if you have a laptop.

2008-10-05T16:15:00.003-04:00

Use Google Maps to find how/where to register to vote.

Use Google Maps to find how/where to register to vote.

This is me, in Manga

2008-08-19T21:48:00.002-04:00

Do you like this? Should I use it?

Does it look like me?

Made from Face Your Manga.

Hunter Parrish (Silas Botwin) on Broadway!?

2008-08-19T00:28:00.002-04:00

From the Weeds Facebook fan page:
"Want more of Weeds hottie Hunter Parrish? Then check him out in Broadway’s groundbreaking hit musical Spring Awakening, beginning August 18th. Parrish will play the central role of Melchoir, a brilliant young radical and it is rumored that he will be showing off some of his 'assets'."

Weeds - Season 4 - Episode 10: The Love Circle Overlap

2008-08-19T00:05:00.006-04:00

Ok, is it just me, or did the last two episodes start getting heavier and heavier??

Has Nancy found her new Juda?
Will Rad's Mom break Silas' heart?
Is Shane going to snap?

Is Nancy getting soft? She had some gangster in her, but she's all but totally lost it. Now that trafficking involves more than just some illicit substances, it's all too much for her. I guess she's always had a moral code, but she's definitely being pushed way far outside her comfort zone (so much so that she's physically pained by migraines?).

"F*ck you Juda!" was particularly hard to hear (a little harder than seeing the engagement and wedding rings come off).

On a lighter note... Favorite quote of the show:
"Hey, on TV -- they don't handcuff people for their interventions." -Celia Hodes

AND NOW... scenes from next week's episode:

Mary Louise Parker should win an Emmy just for this one...

I'm going to write you up on ChowHound!

A manhole cover for your front door!?!

2008-08-18T10:58:00.004-04:00

Check it out! You can get a doormat that looks like a manhole cover. Thanks @navit for the tip!!

...I think I'd prefer to have "Water" instead of "Sewer" but it's still just as cool.

(from Fred and Friends at worldwidefred.com)

What I'm reading...

2008-08-07T21:46:00.001-04:00

Book recommendation: The Left Hand of Darkness - Ursula K. Le Guin

Disclaimer: Sci-Fi geeks only

Why I liked it: a journey about friendship, love, and betrayal in a crazy world where there are no men or women, only humans.

(Weird? Read it.)

# # #

Next up: Ghost Map (thanks for the rec, June!)

Bike sharing now available in DC

2008-08-05T08:24:00.000-04:00

I've been watching these little bike rental kiosks pop up in a few places around the city.

I'm really excited that this is finally happening in DC.

BREAK UP 08: New York Subway Lovers are dunzo

2008-07-31T21:21:00.004-04:00

So sad!! You all remember that craziness, right?

The New York City Subway Romance Heard Round The World is now over...

The original site. (Image below is what the dude created in order to find the girl. Check out the site.)

The news I heard.

Stranded on Virgin America: is this a silver lining?

2008-07-23T00:52:00.000-04:00

They give you paper to make paper airplanes (while you wait 9 hours for your real airplane).

Dear Virgin America: We've been waiting at the airport for my plane for 9 hours. Love, -Geoff

2008-07-22T23:50:00.001-04:00

To any Virgin America customer service representative:

My colleagues and I are stranded at the airport. We're a group of business colleagues on our way across the country for business meetings. We should be sleeping soundly so that we're fresh and ready for a full day of meetings with a key client.

Instead, we are angry. We are cranky. We are delirious and delusional. We are pissed off.

Apparently one of your BRAND NEW planes had a faulty battery. Apparently the only replacement for that faulty battery was 300 miles and 9 hours away from our departure city.

Ok so before I complain too much, I do want to say that the gate agents were so nice and kept us up to date with as much information as was provided to them. They also did try to rebook everyone on the last plane of the evening, but we were three of the poor saps that didn't make it onto that plane.

But back to my complaining... We were forced to wait for Virgin America to figure out how to resolve the situation. Virgin America was not able to resolve the problem quickly or efficiently. So here are my questions:

Why was it that there weren't spare parts on hand and at the ready at one of your hub airports? Why was it that you flew in a spare part to an airport that's 40 minutes away from the airport where it's actually needed? How/why was the battery delivered to an airport that you don't even service? Why don't you make it common practice to provide more than a $10 voucher for stealing nine hours of our lives? And why is it a business traveler now knows so much about the intricacies of a Airbus A320 airplane battery? Really... Is this necessary?

We want our nine hours back. We want to see substance behind that suave facade. Before we book another flight with Virgin America again, we'll think twice about how much it's really worth.

Your potentially ex-customers,
-Geoff (and the two colleagues stranded with me)
Passengers on the ultra-delayed VA flight 462 and stranded at IAD for 8 hours and counting (on 7/22)

Weeds - Season 4 - Episode 6

2008-07-21T23:28:00.004-04:00

Ok, first: congrats to Ms. Mary Louise Parker on her Emmy nomination. You are most definitely the most Outstanding Lead Actress In A Comedy Series! And woot! woot! for the entire show being in the Emmy's Top Ten Comedy Finalists.

Enough about all that. I had a few laughs during tonight's episode, but first I want to say: what was with the repeated use of the dreamy-I'm-awestruck-in-love effects they used twice?? (once w/ Silas and Rad's mom; second time w/ Doug and MirMex) It was weird, disjointed, and just not on par with what you'd normally expect. Did the editor take a day off?

Now for the fun:

LOL moment #1 - Shane the stooge "$130. Keep it up."
LOL moment #2 - Cell phone pic of Maria MirMex

Lastly...
Who is this lady that's trying to move in on Silas?! The Wacky Wack poster is MINE!!

If that wasn't enough to make your blood boil, look what you can expect in next week's episode:

P.S. Isabelle got so skinny!

My friend Miles lives in Angola

2008-07-14T23:50:00.004-04:00

Pop quiz: without doing a Google Maps search, could you point to Angola on a map?

My buddy Miles can. His company shipped him off to Angola to save the world or something like that. ;-)

Here's what his first day was like (read more about it on his blog, Machimbombo Madness -- where "machimbombo means 'bus'"):

"In my list of first impressions I'm tempted to look for similarities with Brazil, but it's honestly more as if some distant planet had tapped into Brazilian TV and became addicted to their soap operas, food, and culture, but somehow just couldn't get the portuguese accent quite right. ... The people everywhere with whatever they have to sell on their head, in their arms, tied to their back and walking through traffic... The constant hum of construction and deadlocked traffic... That's what this place is like. It is total chaos here, and for the short amount of time I've been here, I like it."

Weeds - Season 4 - Episode 5

2008-07-14T22:53:00.005-04:00

Amazing. I swear that everytime I watch this show I don't think it's possible for it to get any better; every time I'm wrong.

This is the first episode in a long time where I can remember laughing out loud as much as I did.

(Favorite scene - "Nancy saying grace" around the dinner table.)
(Favorite hair - Silas Botwin w/ lab goggles.)
(Favorite pistol whip - ...enough said.)

If you don't yet watch this show, you should start. If you do. How much do you love this sh*t?!

Manhole covers are different in every city

2008-07-02T20:15:00.001-04:00

Case in point.

(Who's' water do you think tastes better?)

Facebook app on my BlackBerry

2008-06-26T21:43:00.003-04:00

Ok, so here's my beef: there are some people who I only talk to through Facebook. Even though it's part of my job to be tapped in to the latest and greatest on the interwebs, I still feel like a slacker checking Facebook from work.

Then, after ten hour days in front of the computer screen, I feel obliged to pay attention to the real world for a minute. The real world includes my BlackBerry, though. So I could spend all night checking Facebook on my phone, ~~but the BlackBerry app for Facebook has a little, itty, bitty flaw.~~

~~It allows you to send OUT messages, but doesn't let you receive them. Sure, sure: you can look at status updates and update your own. You can even upload pictures. But you can't receive messages.~~

~~Is the guy/gal who built the Facebook app for BlackBerry still on the job? Do you mind adding that one little feature?~~

Yah, I'm a jackass. The Facebook app for the BlackBerry allows you to do just about everything that Facebook does, you just have to set up your preferences in Facebook correctly. The folks up at RIM even put instructions for how to do this on the Getting Started on Facebook page on BlackBerry.com. So... yah... a mobile post will be coming soon about how happy I am to be using Facebook on my BlackBerry.

PR Week's "The digital effect"

2008-06-24T21:56:00.002-04:00

"Even in the midst of an economic downturn, marketers are planning to increase their financial and strategic commitment to online and new media initiatives."

Read more about PR Week's 2008 Marketing Management Survey:
http://www.prweekus.com/The-digital-effect/article/111523/

(Download the survey report here:
http://media.haymarketmedia.com/Archives/1/MarketingSurvey_622.pdf)

Manhole covers are different in every city

2008-06-24T21:32:00.001-04:00

You've stepped over hundreds (thousands?) of them, but have you ever taken a moment to appreciate the unique manhole covers in your city?

A mobile post

2008-06-24T20:50:00.002-04:00

Wouldn't it be great if there were a Blogger app for BlackBerry??

The coolest thing...

2008-06-24T19:42:00.002-04:00