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Gee Why

About Gee Why

https://www.pulpconnection.net

Addicted to passions and pulp

Posts by Gee Why:

Still Fighting Site Stability

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I’ve been trying to improve the stability of Pulpconnection, but it’s still suffering downtime more or less every time I publish a post. Usually a restart of the server fixes the problem, but that really isn’t a satisfactory solution.

So I disabled a few more plugins (which were supposed to improve performance) and am removing the Hello Bar javascript code.

Who’s Adding a Lytro to their Photo Gear?

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Now this is cool. The Lytro is a camera that doesn’t care about focus when snapping a pic. You can focus your image after it’s captured. I don’t know how it works, but it is really a point and shoot camera. Check out the interactive sample below. Click on different parts of the image to change focus.

The Secret of Social Media Success

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I attended the Social Media Summit Hawaii 2011 and gleaned the secret of social media success. Do you want to know what the secret is? Do you? Are you ready for it?

Okay, here goes. The secret of social media success is hard work.

What?! That’s it? That’s what you learned from a day-long seminar with social media elite you ask? Well, yes, but not in those exact words.

In this post, I am not going to recap topic sessions. You can harvest the power of Twitter for that by searching for the hashtag of #SMSHI (or #HISMS). Mari Smith taught the audience How to Build a Large, Loyal, and Profitable Network, Erin Blaskie explained how companies can outsource their social media, NEENZ provided her insights about building communities, Mike Prasad presented self-experienced case studies, and Yancy Unequivocally Jim convinced the audience to create viral presentations. These sessions I attended were filled with tips and insights, but one underlying lesson resonated from each speaker and each topic – you have to invest hard work to realize success.

Hard work includes discipline. Do you reach out to your social media communities every day, every week, every month? NEENZ does.

Hard work includes consistency. Are you consistently listening to your clients, customers, and audience and consistently using their feedback? Mari Smith implores you to do so.

Hard work includes organization. Do you use a project management system such as Basecamp to organize your social media replies and conversations? Erin Blaskie recommends it.

Hard work includes dedication of time. Do you spend 60-80 hours of work and research to create a one-hour presentation slide deck? Yancey Unequivocally Jim of Empowered Presentations does.

Hard work includes being methodical. Do you dissect your target audience into focused seed groups? That’s what Mike Prasad did for Kogi BBQ and sold over $2M of $2 fusion tacos.

So success doesn’t hinge upon the social media tools, tips, or resources. The differentiator is the hard work you bring, and that my friends is the secret of social media success.

Thanks to the Social Media Club Hawaii for organizing a great event!

Bonus

About the tools and resources mentioned during the Summit? Here are a few I jotted down:

Double Bonus

Here are just a few random shots taken from the event and venue.

coffeemate-warm-cinnamon-sugar-cookie

Darn, Not on Sale

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I don’t recall trying this seasonal coffee creamer, but it’s not on sale so I’ll have to wait to sample Coffee-mate’s Warm Cinnamon Sugar Cookie.

Coffeemate Warm Cinnamon Sugar Cookie Creamer
starbucks-pick-monster-book

Starbucks Pick Catering to Kids and Parents

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Have you noticed a few of the recent Starbucks Pick of the Week have catered towards kids (and their parents)? This past week’s Pick is The Monster at the End of this Book, an interactive app from Sesame Street.

I wonder what Starbucks rationale is for this offering? Getting kids hooked on Starbucks at an early age? Giving parents an excuse to stop by for some lattes and of course, to pick up the free Sesame Street app?

david-coverdale

Why Do I Have This?

Rummaging through some old stuff, I found this poster of Whitesnake’s David Coverdale. Why, oh why, do I have this?

Whitesnake's David Coverdale

But since we’re on the topic of Whitesnake, let’s reminisce with “Here I Go Again.”

Thank Goodness for Derek Hough!

I have a confession. This Dancing with the Stars junkie had not watched a single episode from Season 13. I barely even know who the contestants are. Heck, other than Ron Artest, I don’t know who’s been eliminated already.

So there I was in Week 4, watching my very first show, and I admit most of the stars were okay. The dances were serviceable, and the judges scores were forgiving. Then came the masterful mancrush known as Derek Hough with partner Ricki Lake. They danced a difficult tango set to the challenging theme music from Psycho.

From this performance, I remembered what attracted me to this show. From the setup to the dancing to the conclusion, this was all “wow!” And two scores of 10 this early in the season validates the excellence of this performance. The DWTS producers must be thankful Derek Hough is back on the ballroom floor. Now, only if he can endure his recent shoulder injury…

think-different1

To the Crazy Ones, “Think Different”

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Of all the Apple slogans over the years, the one that I love the most is “Think Different.” It’s short, powerful and makes you think about the short, powerful message of “think different.”

Along with this slogan, Apple printed posters of those in history who dared to think different. It was a very appropriate campaign highlighting how Apple was not just another computer company and further set the stage for Apple’s method of forthcoming success.

Here are a few Think Different posters I own along with the memorable message “to the crazy ones.”

Listen to Steve Jobs address the crazy ones.

And here’s a longer rendition of the message to the crazy ones.

To the crazy ones
at-apple

When I Met Steve Jobs

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Yes, I really did meet Steve Jobs in real life. Really. It was completely unexpected, but boom, there he was. Sadly, time has dulled the memory, but on Steve Jobs Day, here’s my story of when I met Steve Jobs.

It must have been 2002 during a visit to see Kim and Stewart in San Francisco. It was my first visit to the Apple Company Store on the Cupertino campus. This was the time before iPhones and Google Maps, and I think printed MapQuest directions brought my wife and me to 1 Infinite Loop. But, we got there too early, maybe around 8am. I think the store opened at 10am, maybe 9am.

We drove down the street, ate breakfast, and headed back. We were still early and waited outside the store’s glass doors. With a clear view of the outside parking lot, I noticed a car pull into one of the few empty stalls. I think it was a BMW. As the driver walked across the way, it looked like Apple’s iCEO himself.

This is what I was thinking – it’s odd that THE boss would park in an outdoor lot, not in the underground parking fronting the main building. So I had my doubts it was Mr. Jobs, and I don’t think he was wearing his signature black turtle neck and jeans. But as he approached, I recognized the Apple founder.

I told my wife that that was Steve Jobs, but she was unconvinced. We walked closer to get a better look, and I started to power up my newly bought Canon PowerShot S30 digital camera. Then I had second thoughts about snapping a picture remembering horror stories of Steve’s tirades. I didn’t want to get yelled at or booted off the campus on our first visit.

Instead, my wife calmly approaches Mr. Jobs and simply asks, “Are you Steve Jobs?”

“Yes,” he says.

In disbelief, we ask if he’d mind taking a picture with us.

“Sorry, I’m late for a meeting” was his cordial reply as he hurried off into the main building. And that was it, our short moment meeting Steve Jobs. Sure, at the time, I was disappointed not getting a picture, but now I know Steve had industries to revolutionize and insanely great products to create.

While I don’t have any pictures to show for this personal encounter, all I can offer is this blurry picture of me at 1 Infinite Loop with the EXIF timestamp of July 1, 2002.

When I Met Steve Jobs
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