Drew Carey, The Price Is Right (And The Price We Pay)

"Jeffrey Sass, from Myxer... come on down!" Yes! Drew Carey just picked my business card out of a bucket and called me onto the CNET Stage at CES for a round of Geek Trivia! I had just been admiring how down to earth and cool Drew was being with the gathered crowd, signing autographs and taking pictures and joking around warmly. Despite his celebrity he seemed like a regular guy, just as you would expect he would. Approachable, funny, someone you'd want to be friends with and who just might let you... I raised one hand in the air, half whooping, and half identifying myself as the person whose name Drew had just called.

Smile, We're All On Candid Camera...

As I "came on down" to the stage, I remembered that in my other hand I held a shiny new toy...a handheld HD video camera on loan from my friends at Sony. I had only had the camera in my possession for a few minutes and was wholly unfamiliar with it, but it had a familiar flip out LCD screen and a bunch of buttons that I assumed would turn it on and make it record. Perfect! They say the best camera is the camera you have with you, and here I was, about to go on stage with Drew Carey, camera in hand. I HAD to capture the moment on video...

As I pushed through the crowd I flipped open the LCD and heard a reassuring high pitched beep as the camera turned on. I fantasized about the tens of thousands of YouTube views I would get when I posted this uber cool video of me and the uber cool @DrewFromTV. I stepped up onto the stage and Drew shook my hand. I held up the camera and above the din of the crowd asked him if he minded if I recorded. He had barely said "sure, knock yourself out" and I had the camera up in front of my face and pointed at him.

The next few minutes were a blur, mostly because I spent them staring at a 3-inch LCD screen, living life at 720p and 30 frames per second, filtered through the lens of a borrowed video camera. As Drew slipped into his comfortable role as game show host and focused on emceeing the round of "Geek Trivia" I was focused on keeping Carey in focus in the LCD of the Sony. When he called on me to answer a ridiculously easy multiple choice question (something about Linus Torvalds and Linux) I was so caught up in being a citizen cinematographer that I lost all synaptic connections to my brain and though fully cognizant of the correct answer, from behind the camera my brain failed me. As I pointed the camera at Drew to capture his reaction I blurted out the wrong answer, knowing it was wrong the moment the words left my mouth. As the knowing crowd of geeks in the audience chuckled at my apparent ignorance, Drew too looked at me as the dunce I was.

Fleeting Fame...

My fifteen minutes of fame had lasted about fifteen seconds. Drew handed me a consolation tee shirt and whisked me off the stage. I pointed the video camera at him as I left the limelight, but he had already forgotten my poor performance and was on to the next contestant...

As embarrassed as I was at my geek trivia gaffe, I was still quite excited.  After all, I had this awesome video of "me and Drew Carey" ready to blast my YouTube cred to a new level. It was worth the shame of getting knocked out of the competition by the first softball question. Perhaps that would actually make my video funnier and thus more appealing and an even better magnet for views. As soon as I was a reasonable distance away from the stage I stopped in my tracks to examine the camera and replay my handiwork. I figured out which button set the camera into playback mode and eagerly pressed it.

Nothing. Panicked, I closed the LCD to shut the camera off, then opened it again to resurrect the recorder.  I put it into playback mode again. Again, nothing. No Drew. No me. No!!!  Sure, the camera had been on, and I watched my magical moments with Drew Carey through the lifelike images on the LCD, but alas, in my haste (and my unfamilarity with this particular camera model) I had not actually ever pressed "record." There was no video of "me and Drew." Worse, I had barely participated in the experience as I was focused the whole time on making the video and not at all on "living the moment." Not only had I lost the chance to capture it on "tape" I had lost the chance to capture it in my memory, as my only memory would be of the 3-inch LCD screen, and my desperate attempt to make a great video.

To add insult to injury, I looked in my hand and saw the "The Price Is Right" tee shirt Drew had given me. It was pink. It was a woman's size. I would have no video, and no tee shirt to wear to prove I had even been there with Drew...

A Digital Dilemma...

It is wonderful that we are all media producers, with cameras in our phones and literal recording studios in our pockets. The digital age of sharing has changed the way we approach our everyday experiences, viewing everything as an opportunity to tweet, and post, and capture and blog. These can all be great things and fun to do. But sometimes life is better left lived. A picture may be worth a thousand words, but good memories and real experiences can be worth a thousand pictures.

Drew, if we ever have the chance to meet again, I promise.. no pictures!!!

Android App Alphabet: Still in the "A's" with App 2 SD

I could not imagine going through the day without my trusted HTC EVO.  I rely on it for so many daily functions, from waking me up in the morning as an alarm clock, to acting as my mobile media center for my daily fix of podcasts, social network updates, news and information, and even for the occasional phone call.  With that in mind, when my EVO starts getting sluggish and begins to under perform, it becomes an instant source of unnecessary stress in my life (yeah, I know, I shouldn't be complaining if the "stress" I am worried about is related to the performance of my smartphone...but, hey, such is the life of a gadget geek!)

Thanks For The (Lack Of) Memory...

It seems the greatest contributor to my occasional Android angst is the lack of internal memory.  So, when I overload my phone with too many apps and too much data I am faced with a fatigued device, prone to frequent failures, from crashes to missed calls to cutting off my ability to add more apps.  What's a geek to do?  Of course, deleting data and memory gobbing apps is one way to free up space on your Android, but it can be frustrating if you like to have lots of apps at your fingertips.  The latest versions of Android do let you store and run apps from the SD card, which is a great solution except that not all apps are capable of being moved to the SD card.  It is a function developers must actively include in each individual app. As a result, you may have to go through the painful process of checking each app on your phone, one by one, to see if it can be moved to the SD card.  Not a happy way to spend the day.

Sam Lu To The Rescue!

The best answer I have found so far is a neat little free app from developer Sam Lu, App 2 SD.  As the name implies, App 2 SD scans the apps on your Android device and let's you know which internal apps are capable of being moved to the SD card, and then it lets you move them all with a single click.  Nice!  It even can move itself to the SD card, all in all providing a very simple, efficient way to free up as much internal memory hogged by apps as you can.  You can also use Apps 2 SD to move apps from the SD card back to the phone, if need be.

If you are aggravated by Android apps invading your internal memory then App 2 SD may be just the tool you have been looking for! 

Do you have other tips for freeing up Android internal memory?  Please add them in the comments, where there is no limit on space!

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Your Social Media Strategy Is An Octopus! (From #140Conf Boston)

My friend Jeff Pulver has grown his 140 Characters Conference ("140Conf") to be a global gathering of stories and storytellers covering every imaginable aspect of the impact of the "real-time web" on business, media, education, art and our daily lives. Jeff manages to collect an amazing group of real characters who have real experiences, large and small, and who are always informative and inspiring.  With back to back, wall to wall speakers and panels taking the one and only main stage it is a fast paced event, overloaded with amazing content about "real-time" presented in real-time.  I have had the opportunity to speak at the inaugural 140Conf event, as well as several others thereafter, and it has always been one of my favorite events to speak at.    

The Social Media Octopus

At the recent 140Conf Boston conference I discussed how "Your Social Media Strategy Is An Octopus!"  At Myxer, where I work, I was recently tasked with developing a "social media" strategy for the company.  Suddenly this thing I have been playing with and writing and speaking about for three years is now part of my job responsibility. Be careful what you wish for...   

In developing a strategy for Myxer I used the Octopus as a helpful analogy to address the many tentacles of our Social Media activities:

• An Octopus has many tentacles, and your social media strategy has many outposts and elements (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Blogs, etc.)

• The tentacles of an Octopus are both deeply intertwined and independent of each other as they work to support the Octopus.  The tentacles of your social media strategy are similarly intertwined and independent, working to support your marketing objectives.

• An Octopus can jettison one of it's tentacles and grow a new one.  Similarly, you should jettison your social tentacles that aren't working and try something new.

• An Octopus is a master of camouflage, and can literally become invisible.  A good social media strategy should also be invisible, and your social media interactions should feel organic and natural to your customers.

What do you think?  Is your social media strategy an Octopus?

Below is the video of my 140Conf Boston presentation.  Thanks to @geogeller for recording the video, and thanks to @iPayStation for the photo above. For convenience I edited the video to include the videos I showed and some of my slides.

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Are You Getting Your Pizza The Mobile Pie?

I had the pleasure of participating on two panels and giving a "spotlight" presentation at DigiDay: Mobile in NY on Monday.  Nick Friese, Tameka Kee and the entire DM2 Media team run a great series of events focusing on all aspects of Digital Media, and my employer Myxer has been happy to be one of the sponsors of both DigiDay: Apps and DigiDay: Mobile.  I enjoy speaking before a crowd, and had some fun this time bringing along an edible "prop."  The description of the session and video of the presentation is below.  What do you think?  Does the idea of "branded mobile content" resonate with you?  I welcome your thoughts and feedback in the comments.

FREE Branded Content: Mobile For The Mass Market: Apps, apps, apps. Location, location, location.  These are the incessantly buzzing Buzz words of the day.  But the majority of U.S. mobile subscribers don’t have a Smartphone yet, and they have little interest in sharing their every move with friends and marketers.  How do brands reach the masses of the mobile marketplace in fun, engaging and attention getting ways?  With branded personalization content that rings true across all handsets, smart or not.  Brands from GEICO to SKITTLES to FORD to ORBIT and more have leveraged the broad reach of free branded mobile content to establish lasting engagement with consumers.

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September 11th And The Things I Miss

There will be much written today about the events of 9/11 and much of it by folks who were far more directly impacted than I was. I did not lose any family or immediate friends, but I still feel a sense of loss, and like most of us, a sense that things changed on that day, deeply, dramatically and permanently, even if at times it is hard to verbalize just what those changes are.


Stars And Stripes Forever?


In the days following September 11th 2001, in addition to the feelings of sadness, frustration and anger, I was overwhelmed by a sense of community and nationalism. Through the horror of the act of terrorism in my homeland there emerged a powerful sense of belonging, of being part of a common cause, of being an American. After so many years of neglect, I once again recited The Pledge Of Allegiance with meaning and purpose, as a true pledge and with pride and emotion behind the rote words. One of my sons and I planted a flagpole in our front yard and the raising and lowering of the American flag became a cherished daily routine. As I drove to and from work I was invigorated by the many cars, like my own, proudly waving the Stars and Stripes from windows and antennas. We were all in this together, and that sense of belonging seemed to be perhaps the one silver lining in a very dark and stormy cloud.


Where Did It All Go?


In 2005 Hurricane Wilma ripped the flagpole from my yard. Weeks earlier a gash had already been ripped in my American pride by the blatantly failed response to Hurricane Katrina. In the aftermath of Wilma, faced with my own challenges to repair and rebuild, I had no desire to restore my fallen flagpole.  I had lost more than a boat and trees and part of my roof.  I had lost the sense of American pride and purpose that I had regained back on 9/11.  Today, as I think about all that was lost nine years ago, I am also sorry for what has been lost since.  In 2010 we are faced with so much uncertainty that I feel there is hardly a trace of the caring and patriotism that the awful attacks inspired.  The "war on terror" continues.  The faith in our economy continues to decline.  When I look upon my neighbors and fellow Americans I see much more worry than waving of flags.


So Many To Thank


My heart goes out to those who were lost on this day nine years ago, and to the families who have suffered since, and to the brave and dedicated men and women who have put, and are putting, their country first through their service in the military and other public branches.  Your sacrifices and commitment do make me proud to be an American, and I hope that one day soon, for reasons that are only positive, I will once again be inspired to plant a flagpole in my yard.

Myxer Cracks The QR Code

(Note: The following is an article I wrote for The Official Myxer Blog.  As author of the post, I have graciously given myself permission to re-post it here...)

It turns out Da Vinci isn’t the only one who can get a bunch of people worked up about a code. For many years now the Mobile Industry has been excited by the prospect of using barcodes to connect the real world with the virtual world. I know this firsthand as back in 1998/99 I was co-founder of a company called BarPoint.com, and our entire business was built around the concept of entering or scanning a barcode on your phone and instantly getting back product specific search results and comparison shopping information. Can you say “ahead of our time”?

That Was Then, This Is Now

Flash forward to 2010 and the age of the Smartphone. Thanks to the proliferation of cameras in every phone the idea of scanning a barcode from your phone is becoming more and more common. There are now a number of companies and apps cleverly and creatively using barcodes to extend and simplify the process of accessing mobile content and interacting with physical media to trigger actions on your phone. It gives a new meaning to “point and click!” One of the the barcode formats growing in popularity is the QR Code (or “Quick Response” Code), the funny looking box above and below that you are starting to see cropping up in more and more places, from billboards in Times Square, to the backs of business cards.

The QR MyxerCode

A QR code can include an embedded link, and the software that your cameraphone uses to read the code can launch your browser and take you right to that link with a single click. It is EASY and Myxer likes EASY, so we have now added a unique QR Code for virtually every item, Artist and Content Partner on Myxer – over 5 million unique QR Codes! If you are downloading content from Myxer.com you can simply point your scanning ready phone’s camera at the QR Code on any item or artist page and get the link right to the mobile download on your phone. If you have a smartphone you may need to first download a Barcode Scanning app, and if so you can find a few suggested free ones here.

Cut And Paste, Point And Click

If you are an artist or brand with content on Myxer, you can easily “right click” on the code and save your Myxer QR Code as an image you can use on your own site, or even in printed materials to make it easy for your fans to point and click to get right to all your content on Myxer. Even better, not only does every item on Myxer now have a QR Code, but every item and artist also already has a customizable SMS keyword (Text “YourName” to 69937) so between the SMS code and the QR code, any phone can easily get to your content from anywhere you place the codes and SMS instructions. Cool!

Try it now and get a free laugh from the the “Can You Hear Me Now” ringtone by scanning the code below, and if you don’t have a scanning phone just Text “joelhaas 499″ to 69937 or click here.

(Disclosure: I work at Myxer as Vice President, Marketing & Business Development, Chief Evangelist)

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