PodCamp Boston - Anticipation Rising

Yes, the aniticipation for this event is rising. PodCamp Boston is just around the corner, Sep 9-10. The list of registrations is growing. A random scroll down the listing shows Chris Brogan was the first to register. Steve Garfield was # 11 Adam Weiss was # 39 This guy snuck in there at # 62 Members of Uncle Seth take # 79-82. The Rumor Girls take # 107-109. A ndrew Baron and Joanne Colan from Rocketboom take #187-188. Truly a random scroll, so many others were left off this mini listing but they can all be found here and in Boston on Sep 9-10 at PodCamp Boston!     Technorati Tags : PodCamp+Boston, Rocketboom, Steve+Garfield, Chris+Brogan, Uncle+Seth, Rumor+Girls, PodCamp, blog, vlog

ze frank on Branding

If you are concerned or interested about branding, this is a must see! Click on the headline or click here and find the show for 8/29/06. Enjoy! Technorati Tags : zefrank, branding, humor, insight, spot+on

Seth Godin making the rounds

Seth Godin has been making the rounds. He has a wide ranging interview with the folks at Tom Peters as the current Cool Friend, and another on 10 questions with Hugh at gapingvoid.   If you have not seen either of these, I encourge reading both. Hugh's is shorter if that makes a difference.   I have some quibbles with the questions from Hugh that I'll get into a little later.     Technorati Tags : seth+godin, tom+peters, gapingvoid Powered By Qumana

The Long Tail - Review Published at 800-CEO-READ Blog

My review of The Long Tail by Chris Anderson was published at 800-CEO-READ Blog today.   You can read it here.     Technorati Tags : book+review, long+tail, marketing, marketplace, niche Powered By Qumana

September lineup for lifelong learning

Rosa Say has gathered quite a distinguished group of writers to post during September on lifelong learning. I am honored to be amongst them. I needed to commit to a title for my posting and selected: “Evolutionary Blogging: Tips and Tricks” I will be close to celebrating my two year blogversary (9/15) and coming off the PodCamp Boston weekend (9/9-9/10) when I sit down to write so I expect I should have enough to fit within this somewhat open title.   If you have any suggestions on what you'd like me to write on, let me know.   Check out the full listing for September at Talking Story.     Technorati Tags : Talking+Story, Ho'ohana, learning, blog, anniversary, writing, PodCamp+Boston   Powered By Qumana

Your Heat of Summer Carnival Nominees

The nominees are in and the voting is open now.   If you missed the first announcement, check this.   If you are already aware of the carnival, check this:   The last link has the directions to cast your vote in each category.   Enjoy!     Technorati Tags : carnival, 100Bloggers, silliness, adjectives, inspiration, blog   Powered By Qumana

Consumer Reports - Software Test Scandal

Picked up via the WServerNews newsletter, Consumer Reports has apparently gone too far in their recent report on anti-virus and antispyware software. The rub of the "scandal" is that apparently the test was flawed. While they may have had some expertise in doing other product test, they may have overstepped their bounds by getting into this software area. Okay, so the test maybe flawed, maybe they weren't technically adept to do this. The real rub for me has been their response, or lack there of, to the firestorm now swirling around this. For an organization with a reputation for consumerism, to not react and correct their mistake is unacceptable. Technorati Tags : Consumer+Reports, Sunbelt, anti-virus, test, scandal, consumerism, consumer, correct

Experience Immersion

Mothers in the small Swiss village of Bulach may have been wary of the man with a goatee staring at them as they struggled to navigate an ATM, grocery bag in one hand, fractious child in the other. But the man didn't care what their PIN numbers were or how much money they had in their accounts. He wanted to know, Why didn't they just put the bag down?   The answer: The bags were paper, and when the ground is wet--it rains a lot in Switzerland--putting them down means getting the contents soggy. Now, thanks to the man with the goatee, Stephan Kubler, the moms using the ATM at the Credit Suisse branch in Bulach can keep their groceries dry, by resting them on an inch-high grille. So begins the article in FastCompany by Ian Wylie on the "experience immersion" exercises being conducted at Credit Suisse.   Read the full article here.   How do you do research on your customers? How do you create the good experience for them?     Technorati Tags : FASTCompany, experience+immersion, Credit+Suisse, customer+service, good+experience Powered By Qumana

Cow Parade - Borders

cowparade_borders1 Originally uploaded by shersteve. The John Updike Cow is positioned outside Borders in the downtown crossing area. I took this photo a week or so ago and just found out that the cows will be rounded up August 30th to prepare for the charity auction. If you want to see the cows, plan on getting to them soon. Note: the full gallery of cow pictures is available on the Cow Parade web site. Technorati Tags : cow+parade, boston, cows, blog, visit, tourist, charity, auction

Boston - Bridge Art - Walker

Boston - Bridge Art - Walker Originally uploaded by shersteve. The old Northern Avenue Bridge in Boston is closed to vehicle traffic but open to walkers. It is a historical landmark and may get fixed up someday before it falls apart. In the meantime, you can walk on it. And a local artist has put this display with the graphic that were this a video instead of a still photo, you would see the yellow figure walking along in the display. Cool! Animated walkers amongst real walkers. What is more real? Art or life?

Blogging for big bucks

This article in CNNMoney.com focuses on Michael Arrington and how he is growing his blog (TechCrunch) and blogging business. They make the extention that It's not just a hobby -- some small sites are making big money. Here's how to turn your passion into an online empire. The logic is flawed. Michael Arrington's blog is focused on the tech business and much more likely to generate this kind of business than ANY other small blog. Oh, some small blogs can make money but not necessarily on Arrington's scale. Technorati Tags : blog, blogging, money, advertising

Maybe old news, but still news

Via CraigBlog (Craig Newmark), I hear that there is an organization that earlier this year reported on some 77 local TV stations that had broadcast a news report that had effectively been prepackaged for them by PR on behalf of paying clients (read advertisers).   I think I have heard of this before but here is a listing of the stations and the reports that were aired. Turns out one of the local Boston stations (WHDH-TV, Channel 7) was involved once.   Caveat emptor, let the buyer beware is ever more important these days.    Be an informed watcher and processor of news.     Technorati Tags : video+news+report, fake+news, TV   Powered By Qumana

PodCamp Boston - Video Promo

I almost missed it but you don't have to, here is a cute video promo for the upcoming PodCamp Boston. You can also see the same thing on the PodCamp blog.   And if you have a YouTube account, you can find it there as well.   Enjoy!     Technorati Tags : PodCamp+Boston, blog, vlog, blogging, podcast   Powered By Qumana

Falmouth - Postings Gathered

Here is the gathering of entries from our Falmouth weekend:     from Steve's 2 Cents Falmouth - Palmer House Inn   Falmouth Shining Sea Bikeway   Falmouth - Nobska Approach   Falmouth - Nobska Light     from Passionate Runner Falmouth Prep   Falmouth - On the lookout   Falmouth - 4 Mile Mark   Falmouth - Early results   Falmouth Starting Line   Falmouth Globe Photo   Falmouth First Mile   Falmouth Results Ready   Falmouth Results - Column Heading Error     from Passion for the Good Customer Experience Falmouth - Town Common   Falmouth - Shore View   Who was Katherine Lee Bates?   Falmouth - Shining Sea   America, the Beautiful   Falmouth - Guiness Perfect Pint   Falmouth - Palmer House Inn   Falmouth - Palmer House Inn     from Tertiary Education Falmouth - Beach Access   Falmouth - Ferrywatchers     from 100Bloggers Be Special     Technorati Tags : Falmouth, run, running, passion, good+experience, Palmer+House+Inn, RBF, NCPacers   Powered By Qumana

StatCounter Map

statcounter_map_60819 Originally uploaded by shersteve. StatCounter introduced a slick new feature that incorporates your most recent visitors with Google maps. I like this. This is what it looks like this morning for Steve's 2 Cents. But where is Hawaii?

Are you going to make it today?

ZeFrank with the 10 stages of ICEC... use with caution, especially if you have a weak stomach. Have fun, sportsracers!

Falmouth - Palmer House Inn

falmouth2006_palmerhouse_flowerbox Originally uploaded by shersteve. On our way out the door one time while staying at the Palmer House Inn this past weekend, I had to stop and take this photo. Not sure what kind of flower it is but the size, coloring, and placement by the walkway made it an eye catch. If it caught me, how many pollenating flying things would it have caught? Just enough I hope. Just one more reason that if you are looking for a place in Falmouth, you might want to consider the Palmer House Inn. Note - I have no financial interest with Palmer House Inn other than it is a place I have been to stay at twice. I like to reward a good service experience with repeat business. That and word of mouth are the two best things to do to keep good experience business alive and well.

Guest Blogging at Simplicity

While Trevor is on a well deserved holiday, Troy, Phil and I will try to mind the Simplicity blog. I made my first entry there with a story on finding your niche with an ironing board. An ironing board? Yes, indeed. Check it out here. I think you will enjoy it. Technorati Tags : simplicity, blog, guest, extreme+ironing, niche Powered By Qumana

Falmouth - Palmer House Inn

falmouth2006_palmerhouse_windowseat Originally uploaded by shersteve. As mentioned previously, Dolores and I stayed at the Palmer House Inn, a wonderful bed & breakfast in Falmouth. This is a window seat on the 2nd floor landing. Couldn't you just curl up with the book to wile away some time?

Falmouth - Guiness Perfect Pint

falmouth2006_guinessperfectpint Originally uploaded by shersteve. The mark of a good Irish bar is to pour a perfect pint of Guiness. I found one while in Falmouth this past weekend at Liam McGuire's. I was fortunate to visit the Guiness Brewery in Dublin many years ago and hear the story of the perfect pint. The head of the beer in the glass is the key. If poured properly, you can make your initial in the top of the head and it should still be visible as you work your way down to the bottom of the glass. Now, clearly, if you are going to chug Guiness this won't work. But then Guiness is not meant to be chugged anyway! My goodness, my Guiness! Visit Liam McGuire's in Falmouth and you can get a perfect pint. Note: this was my glass of Guiness and it was GOOD!

America, the beautiful

Oh beautiful, for spacious skies, For amber waves of grain, For purple mountain majesties Above the fruited plain! America! America! God shed his grace on thee, And crown thy good with brotherhood, from sea to shining sea. Oh beautiful, for pilgrims' feet Whose stern, impassioned stress A thoroughfare for freedom beat Across the wilderness! America! America! God mend thine ev'ry flaw; Confirm thy soul in self control, thy liberty in law! Oh beautiful, for heroes proved In liberating strife, Who more than self their country loved And mercy more than life! America! America! May God thy gold refine, 'Til all success be nobleness, and ev'ry gain divine! Oh beautiful, for patriot's dream That sees, beyond the years, Thine alabaster cities gleam Undimmed by human tears! America! America! God shed his grace on thee, And crown thy good with brotherhood, from sea to shining sea!   written by Katherine Lee Bates, born in Falmouth MA     Technorati Tags : falmouth, run, america, shining+sea Powered By Qumana

Falmouth - Shining Sea

falmouth2006_shiningsea Originally uploaded by shersteve. Taken this morning on the daily walk with Dolores, one of our vacation joys. The "little" hill to the left of the navigation point is the "famous" hill in the last mile at Falmouth. A small challenge compared to other hills on other courses but a challenge at the end of the race none-the-less. Technorati Tags : run, running, RBF, NCPacers, Falmouth

Who was Katherine Lee Bates?

falmouth2006_klbates_plaque Originally uploaded by shersteve. Let's play a litle Jeopardy. This plaque located along the Shining Sea Bikeway reprints the words to "America the Beautiful" written by someone who was born in Falmouth. Coming from this neck of the woods, traveling to Chicago and thence to Pike's Peak reportedly was the inspiration for her to write the words to one of America's favorite songs. The wikipedia story is here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katharine_Lee_Bates

Falmouth - Shore View

Falmouth - Shore View Originally uploaded by shersteve. Had a good walk this morning with Dolores here in Falmouth. A great day has dawned. Can not ask for any better weather. So peaceful here and yet there is so much turmoil in the world. What did Walt Whitman say? (from Leaves of Grass) (scroll to section 32) I think I could turn and live with animals, they are so placid and self-contained, I stand and look at them long and long. They do not sweat and whine about their condition, They do not lie awake in the dark and weep for their sins, They do not make me sick discussing their duty to God, Not one is dissatisfied, not one is demented with the mania of owning things, Not one kneels to another, nor to his kind that lived thousands of years ago, Not one is respectable or unhappy over the whole earth.

Carnival Time

The word is out. Three bloggers are putting together a summer carnival that is a little different.   How different?   Go check it out. Bottom line, it will be FUN!   You can find info on it here, here, here and here.   Stay cool, join the carnival!     Technorati Tags : carnival, heat, summer, blog, 100bloggers   Powered By Qumana

Falmouth - Town Common

Falmouth - Town Common Originally uploaded by shersteve. Multiple fences appear on the common this morning. The real one has yellow ribbons tied along the top cross bar. The vertical yellow bar shown here is a support for the utility pole on the sidewalk. The common is classic New England. A green triangle bordered by churches and stately houses.

What is the stuff of synergy?

Troy asks what is the stuff of synergy? and then proceeds to outline his thoughts on the matter. I happen to agree with the position he takes.   What do you think?   Check it out over at the Synergy weblog.       Technorati Tags : synergy, teamwork, passion, collaboration Powered By Qumana

Shoes, stairs, stains and walking

Capturing some thoughts while they still linger about some future posting opportunities: shoes - what do the shoes people where tell about them purposeful walk - hard to capture in a photo but some folks walk with such determination and others so nonchalantly, what does that say about anything walking stairs - do you count the stairs when you walk them shirt stains - how much of and what kind of a stain removes your shirt from "I wear it to work" to "no, you can't wear that to work"? There may have been another one or two but they have already drifted away, clouds in the sky, the small wispy kind, dispersing into the blue. Not like the storm clouds gathering together, building in fury and intensity to get us all wet later accompanied by the wonder of a thunder and lighting show. When thoughts come like these storm clouds you've just got to write but you have some time to do so. passion weather writing life

News Routine

During the work week, there are three news videoblogs that are becoming a routine for me. Information Week's The News Show with John Soat and company Rocketboom with Joanne Colan (now that Amanda Congdon has moved on) The Show with Ze Frank What a way to start the day! After all Ze says to the "sportsracers" that he is "thinking so we don't have to". In about ten minutes, I have at a minimum, three news stories presented from a different point of view. Opens my mind to the world that begins today. Open your eyes to check these out. PS - Ze's actually provoking quite a bit of thought even if he is doing the thinking. Just because he starts it does not mean that it ends there! education learning time life showtime

EuroGEL 2006 coming in September

I attended GEL 2005, GEL 2006, and wrote about it here. Mark Hurst and company are going to Copenhagen for EuroGEL 2006 over the Labor Day weekend.   What a wonderful opportunity! If someone would like to pay my way, I'd be happy to consider going.   In the meantime, please consider going yourself, or at least spreading the word. EuroGEL has to be as good as GEL 2006 if not better due to the location. Yes, New York is special but come on now, this is going to be in Copenhagen.   Think about it! EuroGEL 2006     Technorati Tags : EuroGEL2006, GEL2006, Copenhagen, good+experience, hurst   Powered By Qumana

Do you have a story to tell on Innovation?

Do you? If so, Scott Berkun is looking for you. From his posting today: I’ve done nearly 20 interviews so far for my next book, and I need more. To quicken the pace I’m being innovative and going digital. Call for all innovators If you have a good story of innovation, or have thoughts on how innovation happens, I want to hear from you. What do you get: Opportunity to contribute to a book about how good ideas come to be A thought exercise in what innovation means, as my unusual and well honed questions will make you think Chance to win a $150 amazon gift certificate, and possibly other prizes Recognition on great work you or your organization have done that others don’t know about The survey is a scant 15 questions long, and should take less than 10 minutes. If you give high quality answers, odds are high I’ll want to chat with you 1-on-1 over e-mail or phone, and may use your material in the book. Get interviewed on innovation If you want background on the project, look here. If you can help Scott directly, thank you! Even if you can't help directly, you can help to spread the word on what Scott is looking for, and for that we'll thank you.   Technorati Tags : innovation, berkun, GEL2006, blog   Powered By Qumana

Alive in Baghdad

Alive in Baghdad is a blog attempting to tell the stories of the Iraqi people with words and video from their point of view. As those of you who have been with us from the beginning are well aware, Alive in Baghdad was started in the summer of 2004, with the intention of providing a space for the voices and images of Iraqis. On my first trip to the Middle East, I traveled to Jordan and Baghdad, to prove that it was feasible and possible for a videoblogger to travel to a warzone, without the kind of security and funding backing people like Kevin Sites, of the "Kevin Sites: In the Hotzone" Yahoo! blog. During this trip myself and the Alive in Baghdad team, based in the United States, proved that we could interview Iraqis all over the city of Baghdad, all from a base outside the Green Zone. They are looking for additional funds to sustain their effort. I think no matter what side of the argument you talk on the war, hearing what the Iraqi people themselves will say about it is a good cause. Won't you consider contributing? You should add Alive in Baghdad to your RSS Reader of choice. Thanks to Rocketboom for bringing this site to my attention. Technorati Tags : Iraqi, people, war, story, videoblog, blog, blogging, rocketboom

Quotes & Links

From Andrew Taylor writing at The Artful Manager In the end, behaving "like a business" is a matter of semantics. Arts organizations are businesses, so their behavior is businesslike -- just as good or just as bad. The deeper question is what kind of business do you want to be? And what skills and perspective do you need to get there? It's not about mimicry. It's about clarity, curiosity and courage. Read the full post here.   From Jeremy Abrahms writing at Bard's Eye View Well, Hezbollah’s army is similarly illegitimate, but not similarly motivated. A bizarre, fascist ideology animates its minions. Casting about in Shakespeare for a parallel to Islamic Fascist Extremism might take us to the France described in Henry VI part X, under Joan of Arc, or to the absurd imposition of religious law described in Measure for Measure. We can even find women and children individually targeted for murder in Macbeth, Richard III, and of course Titus Andronicus. For more on current events from the Bard's perspective, read the full posting here.   From John Moore writing at Brand Autopsy For me, Nettie’s wise words rang true as they helped me to understand how I was using the excuse of needing to read business books as a form of resistance to writing my business book. And the understanding of my need to overcome the self-sabotaging power of “resistance” came from Dan Pink recommending I read Steven Pressfield’s THE WAR OF ART. But I should warn ya … reading THE WAR OF ART has the potential to change your life. Trust me. It is way powerful stuff not to be taken lightly. Read the full posting here. From Malcom Gladwell writing on his blog at at gladwell.com: I must say that my own experience with this blog has only hardened my belief in the intrinsically derivative nature of blogging. As those of you who read the New Yorker know, I wrote a review of the book Wages of Wins this spring, and then blogged about it. The review and my posts prompted a good deal of comments, both on this site and on other blogs. But when I did a search, I was unable to find anyone, among the many who commented on my comments on Wages of Wins, who had actually read the book itself. That’s weird, I mean, it’s a short book. And it's really not that expensive. But nobody—even those who were in highest dudgeon about the book’s conclusions—seemed to want to do more than comment on those who had already commented. Isn’t that the very definition of derivative? Read the full posting here.   Technorati Tags : gladwell, moore, taylor, derivative, war, art, bards+eye+view, semantics   Powered By Qumana

Synergistic Blogtipping

Team Synergy got together to blogtip several blogs this month.   Check out the blogtipping action!     Technorati Tags : blogtipping, blog, synergy   Powered By Qumana

Free Stuff from "That Guy with the Nametag"

"That Guy with the Name Tag" - otherwise known as Scott Ginsburg is giving away free stuff. Like beginning today, and for the next 9 days, a chapter a day from his new book -> How to be that guy! What wrong with free? Nothing, there is no catch. Oh, you might read and do something with his ideas and then become unforgettable but what's wrong with that? Where do I get this free stuff? On Scott's website -> Hello, my name is Blog Thanks! No, the thanks is to Scott! He is that guy with the name tag. Technorati Tags : free, scott+ginsberg, nametag, that+guy

PodCamp Boston

I have yet to podcast. It is one of my objectives for this year. So I hear there is going to be a PodCamp coming to Boston in September. Well, at least it is not some far away place. Boston is easy to get to for me. I can take the train. Or drive. But I should be able to get there. That's the thing, to meet with others and talk about podcasting, and blogging, and what you can do with it. Want to podcast? Want to check out PodCamp Boston? Follow this link. If you do end up arranging to go, let me know. We can meet there. Technorati Tags : podcamp, boston, podcasting, blogging, blogs, community