Be a better liar

Read this small article on Fortune by Seth Godin — it’s a nice add-on to All Marketers are Liars.

More reading from All Marketers Are Liars

There’s a list at the end of All Marketers Are Liars of suggested further reading by Seth Godin.  Instead of having to punch all of those books into Amazon or other shopping engines, you can find the full list with hyperlinks to purchase the books at this post on 800–CEO-READ Blog.

Looking for a few things to do today?

Well, here are some great programs you can start today all from Steve Pavlina’s Personal Development Blog:

• Give Up Coffee.  Steve offers several easy steps to break your addiction.  Need more reasons?  Here are the top reasons to be caffeine free.
• Become an Early Riser.  It’s too late for today, but you can start tomorrow.  Note that you don’t have to go to bed early to get up early.  You should read the whole post, but here’s the lesson in a nut-shell: “Go to bed only when you’re too sleepy to stay up, and get up at a fixed time every morning.”
• Reduce TV Watching.  You might think that this is the completely wrong day to start doing this.  Ok.  Try Steve’s method tomorrow and enjoy the Orange County Choppers Marathon or Boy Meets Grill marathon (or whatever else you are watching to pass the hours today).
• Overcome Your Fear of Public Speaking.  Steve recommends joining Toastmasters, which you probably can’t necessarily do today.  But here’s a thought: Step away from the TV and do a little research on Toastmasters meetings in you area (see how I’m pushing you towards the bullet above?).  Listen, even Tom Peters says this about public speaking: “Let me tell you about powerful public speaking: If you have any sense of humility at all, it scares the hell out of you.”  Practice is the only thing that helps you overcome the fear.

Apparently carriers aren't asking for Blackberry Connect on the Treo

At least according to this post on BBHub, palmOne CEO, Ed Colligan had this to say in an interview with Andrew Carton of the Treonauts Blog:

"Ed Colligan mentioned to our surprise that there was little interest from carriers for the present version of BB Connect on the Treo," writes Andrew, "and that this was the primary reason why it had not yet been made available."

That’s a little hard to believe.  Perhaps Ed should go read the forums on many Treo-specific sites and see the Blackberry Connect is one of the most eagerly anticipated software features for the Treo, especially for those whose companies are heavily invested in Blackberry Enterprise Server, but want the ability to use a superior piece of hardware.  Additionally, I thought that all of the carriers were into enhancements that allowed them to charge monthly incremental data plan increases.

Video for Skype

This post on Skype Journal details the test of Video4Skype, a new 3rd party API that allows one-to-one video conferencing using Skype.  In short, the software performed well, was slightly bandwidth heavy, and only supports one-to-one at this point.  Can’t beat the price.

Switching to Mac

From this post on Working Smart comes a link to the Mad As Hell series of posts on the Security Awareness blog (there’s a lot more to the title, but I didn’t feel like typing all of it).  Well-authored reasons to ditch your PC.

Seth Godin's summer intern

Seth Godin is again this year looking for summer interns to work on a secret project according to this post on his blog.

Last year’s group of interns built ChangeThis, so you can only imagine how exciting this year’s project will be.  Although a little cryptic (and rightfully so), this year’s project is described as:

. . . a new business that (hopefully) will turn a profit as it changes the way hundreds of thousands of people influence the very shape of the web. The concept is pretty robust and we’re going to launch it… fast.

Working with Seth is a great thing to have on your resume.  Additionally he’s offering a $1,000 bounty to anyone who refers someone that becomes and intern, so if you find out about it from my blog and get a position, be nice and share so money with me (actually, just take the money and invest it in your future endeavors — just link to my blog from your blog).

What if your cell phone wasn't?

That’s right, wasn’t a phone at all.

Everyone expects consumer devices from Nokia to be phones.  This morning, according to this article on MobileBurn, Nokia released specifications on its 770 Internet Tablet that runs on Linux.  Surprisingly the 770 has no phone (GSM, CDMA, IDEN) radio inside of it, solely on built-in Bluetooth and WiFi radios to provide access.

Nokia apparently envisions the device as a replacement for a 2nd or 3rd computer that a family might purchase for the home.  As the form factor is really small and the price point as anticipated to be around $350.00 Nokia may very well have a good idea on their hands.

Imagine leaving this device around the house with PDA-like instant-on capability that would allow you to immediately check e-mail, control your home stereo, and generally do all kinds of things that you wouldn’t want to wait on your computer booting to do.

More at this post on Gizmodo and this post on Engadget.

I’m pretty sure that this kind of device is what Apple’s aiming for with all of these Apple Tablet rumors that keep floating around, but the Apple device will most certainly include iTunes controls (if it happens, of course).

Office workouts

I have made the added the following workout devices to my office:

• Dynaflex Powerball ($24 on Amazon, but I found it at a local store for $19) — once you figure out how to use it, the powerball is a great way to strengthen your hands and forearms.  The nice part is that the footprint is very small on your desk as opposed to the old-style spring-loaded hand strengtheners.
• 65 cm exercise ball (currently $18.71 at Amazon or $19 at my local store) — I sit on this for part of the day rather than my chair.  As you are first getting used to sitting on the ball, you will feel some amount of burning in your abs as if you’ve done a lot of crunches; great way to exercise if you sit in front of a computer for any amount of time.
• Medicine ball (this is one of the higher end ones on Amazon that is gyro stabilized) — I keep the medicine ball under my desk and do 2 things with it: (1) roll it back and forth with my feet while sitting (you’ll feel it in your calves), and (2) toss it up and down and hold it while swinging my arms side-to-side during the day.  Do not throw the medicine ball at your coworkers, it will end up badly.

All of the above will allow you to work different muscle groups while taking up very little space and will allow you to stay at your desk to perform the exercises.  Additionally, none of the workouts with any of the devices above are enough to make you break a sweat (at least you shouldn’t break a sweat).

Wireless unlock remotes

I purchased my truck in California and have since moved to Colorado.  The wireless door unlocking remote that came with the vehicle gave me no problems in California, but I have noticed that the remote sets off alarms or unlocks doors on other GM vehicles in Colorado.  Makes me wonder if they ship particular frequency remotes to particular states with the assumption that vehicles will stay in the state where they are sold.  It’s an interesting phenomenon and makes me a little concerned that if my remote can activate other vehicles that other remotes can activate mine.

What Every Good Marketer Knows

Download the PDF of Seth Godin’s “What Every Good Marketer Knows.”

Found at this post on Brand Autopsy.

Pre-order on iTunes

You can pre-order the new Coldplay album on iTunes.  The hook is that if you pre-order, you will receive bonus tracks that will not be available when the album goes on sale June 7th.  I’m pretty sure this is a first for iTunes.

Now, do you get to download the album on midnight of June 7th.  If so, midnight in what time zone?  Oh, and does iTunes automatically download it for you?

Free MacWorld Boston passes

According to this digg, you can get a free MacWorld Boston pass by going to this site and entering this pass code: B0801.

I’m sure there’s a limited number or someone will shut off the code soon, so hurry if you want them.

Are you a Kevin Smith fan?

You know, Silent Bob?  Silent Bob now speaks on Kevin Smith’s blog, My Boring-Ass Life.

iTunes 4.9 to support podcasts

No more 3rd party apps needed if you have native support in iTunes — from this post on Engadget.

Oh, and the post also says that Steve Jobs has stated that he would also consider selling podcasts through iTunes.

Inventing better outlets

Do you have to use a power strip just to plug 2 things into an outlet because the plugs are too big or weird-shaped to fit together?  Worry no more with 360 degree rotating outlets from 360Electrical.  Here’s what they look like:

Pretty cool stuff.

Google personal page

Not surprisingly after their introduction of the Google Account, Google has launched the personal Google home page.  Basically you can create a personalized landing page on Google that incorporates all kinds of Google services including Gmail.

Google personal page

Not surprisingly after their introduction of the Google Account, Google has launched the personal Google home page.  Basically you can create a personalized landing page on Google that incorporates all kinds of Google services including Gmail.

Movie times overlaid on Google Maps

From the same people I wrote about yesterday that overlaid cheap gas prices onto Google Maps comes movie times overlaid onto Google Maps.

All Marketers Are Liars

Seth Godin’s new book, All Marketers Are Liars is in bookstores today — go pick up a copy (note that the Amazon link lists the release date as May 23, but it is in some stores today).