Time Capsule Bobby

Today my youngest son turned 21. Robert Christopher Capone is my official muse for today’s blog on technology.

First, let me get this out of the way: Robert is by far my favorite child (named Robert).

Bobby is a “Nintendo Baby”. Born into the 90’s he grew up with no knowledge of corded telephones, manual typewriters or the things that most of us grew up with. Bobby had a computer before he had a bicycle.

When I turned 21, there were no cellular phones. Bobby never knew of cars that did not talk. He never knew of TV’s that did not come with remote controls, or toys that did not talk, and walk and even “think”.

When I was in college, there was no Google, no Internet and no Distance Learning. Micro computers were just getting started, and it was doubted that they would ever take off. The Apple computer was just a dream in Steve Job’s mind. When I was in school we had grease pencils on transparencies with overhead projectors. I had to go to the Purdue library to learn anything. Thank God for Melvil Dewey and the Dewey Decimal System.

Melvil, meet Siri.

Today we shall celebrate Bobby’s birthday, and we shall have a blast. Via Facebook, emails, texting and other such magic, everyone who can join us for the party shall certainly do so. Those who cannot come in person shall Tweet and Text their way to the party. We might even do Skype video calls on the 27 big screen TVs at http://www.sharkyswest.com/

I am looking forward to this day probably more than anyone: NFL Football on 27 big screen TVs, all with friends and family - people from all around the world joining us for the party - both in person and via HD Video to our smartphones.

Ah yes, spending quality time today with Bobby Capone, my favorite time capsule.

Happy Birthday Bobby!

YouthHaiti

  Your old computer can save a life.

Part I:
Youthaiti continues these projects with our Haitian partners to make a difference in the lives of rural Haitians. We hope to launch a Community-led sanitation awareness campaign in the upcoming months, to empower Haitians to make decisions about what is important to them in terms of sanitation in their communities. But once again, none of this can happen without your support. Getting supplies and trainers to distant rural areas costs money. It is only through your continued generosity that we are able to continue this work. I thank you again, for your support, and count on your continued generosity.

Gigi Pomerantz
Executive Director
www.youthaiti.org

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Part II:
I am the Executve Director of the www.NYDLA.org  The NYDLA’s mission is to establish a forum dedicated to the free exchange of ideas and information between corporate, academic, and government professionals, concerning the issues and technological changes in the field of Distance or "e-Learning" and how it can be utilized to improve human performance. Visit www.NYDLA.org to learn more.

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Part III:
MTP vendors like www.MySolarLife.com allow for any mobile device (including smartphones and computers) to work anywhere at anytime. Satellite powered phones and computers work away from access to electricity, such as in Haiti.

I have been involved in Haiti Relief ever since the earthquake. MTP vendors donated hundreds of Satellite phones. 

www.MTP-USA.com collects used laptops and smartphones from vendors such as www.AnythingIT.com and www.PlanITROI.com  We ship these refurbished and/or donated laptops and phones to Haiti, where they are used for classrooms, and to create JOBS where no jobs could exist before. VoIP allows for anytime, anywhere communications, as long as you have power.

They don’t have many things in Haiti, but one thing they do have in great abundance is sunlight.

Technology in the right hands with the right guidance can change a life. People who had no hope, now can receive a quality education. An education that empowers Haitians to make decisions about what is important to them in terms of sanitation in their communities. A GREAT education, from the world’s best teachers, which leads to jobs. Jobs where they can earn money - great money - for their country. They can create their own sustainable solutions. All via technology based learning systems. But the magic of the Internet and great distance learning technology needs great people to make it all happen; great people to tie it all together.

People like Gigi Pomerantz.

I have been a salesman all my life. I love selling technology. Now, I get to sell hope for those who need it the most.  

The cost: $0. The ROI: priceless. Please donate to www.YoutHaiti.org  

Time to Buy

 My birthday is October 2nd. The Apple iPhone just had a birthday, too. When is it time to buy a new technology? The answer is really quite simple, and you will find it here, in today’s blog.

As I played with the iPhone 5 I wondered what the late Steve Jobs would have thought about the latest twist on Apple's best-selling device. The iPhone 5 has more than a few improvements, including a larger screen.

My opinion: Jobs would have been delighted with the iPhone 5. It has a blend of beauty, utility and versatility.

Apple will compel hordes of people to line up outside its stores before its Sept. 21 release in the U.S., Japan, Britain, Germany, France and four other countries. The dash to buy the iPhone 5 will be repeated again on Sept. 28 when it goes on sale in 22 other countries. All the models of the iPhone 5 will sell for the same prices as its predecessor, starting at $199 with a two-year data and calling plan. I was only given a few minutes with the iPhone 5 at Wednesday's launch event.

For many people, the iPhone is going to be a case of “love at first byte”. It's incredibly light and seems to be easier to hold. That means it might not be dropped as frequently as previous iPhones, reducing the chances of the display screen getting damaged.

One woman couldn't stop raving about how ideal the new design was for people with smaller hands. "All the other iPhones were made with men in mind (big hands) because they could easily slip from your grasp," she said. "Now we finally have an iPhone for women." Yeah, I have big hands. I guess I always had big hands and feet from birth (born on October 2nd, 1960). Wow, I have a birthday coming up soon.

The new iPhone also is easy on the eyes, thanks to a larger screen and its "Retina Display," the high-definition technology that Apple introduced in previous models. Video and photos looked amazing on the iPhone 5's bigger and better screen.

The iPhone 5's screen is a half-inch larger than previous generations, and Apple makes sure to take advantage of it. The extra space means you can now see five rows of apps on the home screen instead of the previous limit of four rows. Open the calendar and you can see five days of events on the screen in horizontal mode, instead of just three.

The larger screen comes to life with a tool called "Panorama" that automatically stitches together a series of pictures into a majestic vista. Panorama can be turned on simply by going into the iPhone 5's camera mode and then selecting it on an option menu. Once it's activated, an arrow guides you as you slowly pan the camera around whatever scenery you desire (if you move too fast, Panorama tells you to slow down and also advises you if you are moving the camera too high or low). Note to self: make sure there is a camera around on my birthday, on October 2nd.

OK, here is the rule for technology purchases: if the new technology improves your life by a factor of two, you can safely make the purchase (by a price factor of two). When it does not, you can wait for the price to come down, or wait for the competition to heat up.

60 sec/1 min x 60 min/1 hr x 24 hr/ 1 day x 365 days/ 1 year = 31536000 sec/year

Airlines had propeller powered planes years ago, so a trip from LA to NYC would take two to three times as long. Time was more valuable than the cost to replace all of the planes with the new jet engine technology. Typewriters worked just fine, until the more expensive word processors did the job in half the time. Digital cameras produced high quality finished photos in seconds, far better than waiting for your pictures to come back from the local drug store.

Time is more important than money; time is life. If the technology will find you more time, increase your work production, or allow you to manage your life (time) better, it is a good deal. If there is no “time” factor with the transaction, you probably don’t need it - no matter how shiny the new gizmo or gadget might be. There are of course other factors, but time is the big key to the technology purchase puzzle. Time vs. Shiny. Always go with time.

I am not one of those people who will stand in line to buy anything, even a new iPhone. Especially when my birthday is October 2nd. Yeah, I don’t think I will be “buying” the new iPhone this time around.

A close shave!

You probably saw this video: It was famous for going viral (very quickly) last year. It still makes me laugh, even after a dozen views. 

 

But what I love is the “technology” behind the scenes. They used video. They used blogging. They used affinity marketing, association marketing, SEO, direct mail, and every other form of technology based marketing that I can think of. The eCommerce engine behind this company just flat out works. The value on the product jumps off the page; they took something that men (at least me) do every day - shaving - and connected with me in a very special way. And now I am blogging on it.

Guys, if you are not already a member, do it.  Ladies, you are not excluded, they have you covered as well. You can sign up for $1 per month.  I went for the $6 per month plan, but to each his own.

Now here is the point of today’s blog. Why did this model work so well for Dollar Shave Club? Can this “tell a friend” model work for other things?  Prepaid Cellular phones?  Diapers? Gas for your car? Your monthly electric bill?  Can this viral video market concept work for YOUR business? I think it can work for my business, and I am going to give it a shot.

The marketing technologies of today allow for some amazing things. Here is what I believe to be true: the success of Dollar Shave Club can be traced back to their video. That video is funny, it has a clear message, and it just flat out works. Without that entertaining video, the idea behind Dollar Shave Club would still be a good idea, the concept would still be a good concept. Having a video on that website was not mandatory. But that video was key to the entire process.

If that video did not exist, I say that Dollar Shave Club would not exist.

The holiday season is right around the corner. NOW is the time to get your eCommerce system ready for the big shopping day after Thanksgiving. We are in September - any day now the Holiday commercials will be hitting the airways. If you have not yet embraced the power of video for your own eCommerce website - what are you waiting for? It is working for me, and I think it will work for you as well.

Dollar Deodorant Club - I can see it now.

From the video: "........for every $20 you spend, $19 goes to Roger Federer....."

I've fallen on my keyboard and I can't get up!

In honor of Labor Day, I am not working all weekend. No work for me on Monday, and no work on Tuesday. In fact, I really don’t remember the last time "the boss" did any real “work” at all. The Internet and wireless mobility changed the way the world works and plays forever. While I am golfing on Monday (and fishing on Tuesday) my company will be working - and making me money - while I stay out of the way.
 Virtual assistants offer a wide variety of services because we have such diverse professional backgrounds. There are virtual assistants who have computer programming and management backgrounds. Some have experience in direct sales, real estate, event planning, teaching, science, design, human resources and the list goes on. Virtual assisting is not the first profession most people get started in right out of college or high school. More than likely virtual assistants worked in other industries prior to becoming a virtual assistant. This is to your advantage because they are able to bring that experience to your project. 

 

Virtual assisting has been around for a while. However, it's still a new concept for many people who are getting started online as business owners, service providers, or freelancers. I have been an Entrepreneur since 1983. When I first heard the term “BPO” in 2005, I didn't fully understand it myself.  

Today, I own www.MTP-BPO.com (our Business Process Outsourcing division at MTP).

When it comes to outsourcing or contracting with a virtual assistant you may not know what projects to give to them or even what services they provide. Think of the tasks you must do each day for your business. Are there some things you wish another person could handle for you? Maybe it's email, researching motivational quotes, writing article summaries, or scheduling posts for Hootsuite. All of which can be handed off to a professional virtual assistant.

 

When looking for a virtual assistant, consider the following service categories. This is an easy way to understand what all virtual assistants can provide for your business. Please note some virtual assistants offer services in all three categories - Administrative, Technical, and Creative.

An administrative virtual assistant may provide services such as customer support, responding to emails, answering phone calls, data entry, creating Excel spreadsheets or PowerPoint slides. She or he may also offer editing and proofing services. Or if your business does contests and giveaways, you'll need support to manage all of that for you. This is something that an administrative virtual assistant might provide.

A technical virtual assistant may provide provide services such as setting up your WordPress website, updating plugins, posting blog content or setting up your email newsletter. She or he may even do social media status updates, moderate online events and provide technical support. You'll even find technical virtual assistants who offer search engine optimization services and keyword research.

A creative virtual assistant may focus on projects that include graphic design work, locating images to be used on social media or blog posts. They may also be able to provide insight when it comes to colors and designs for your website or banner ads.

 Virtual assistants can also provide transcriptions services, invoice services, calendar management, and travel arrangements. If it's a task that you're currently doing or one that you are interested in having someone handle for you, more than likely there's a virtual assistant that offers those services. You'd be surprised at what's out there.

There are many more services virtual assistants can handle for you. As you're doing your research or getting referrals keep in mind what type service you're looking for. Is it more administrative, technical, or creative. The breakdown of services is a starter list to get your wheels turning in regards to what can be outsourced. There's nothing like writing out your blog post in Microsoft Word and emailing it to your virtual assistant to upload to WordPress and setup your newsletter. Or having someone create a spreadsheet with all of your blog posts along with shortened links to be scheduled to update on Facebook or Twitter.

 

If you're not a web researcher, there's no point in trying to force yourself to be one. I like to find people who enjoy the things that I don't so I can stay focused on what keeps me going regardless of challenges. At the beginning it may be fun to handle all the different things required in your business. However, as your business grows you'll quickly realize the importance of outsourcing. Even virtual assistants outsource! Everyone needs a team around them if it's nothing more than being available when you cannot be there for your most valuable clients.

As summer comes to a close, the holidays will be here before you know it. What happens to your online business then? Who handles the emails when you're on vacation with your family? Who prepares your newsletter or works with guest bloggers when you're out of the country? A virtual assistant is not meant to be a carbon copy of you, but they can add additional arms so you can get multiple things done at one time. 

We all need a support team and that's what a virtual assistant or BPO contractor can provide for your business.  

In today's global business world, the iPad and smartphone is the new corner office. Check out www.MTP-BPO.com to learn more.

"We Come In Peace For All Mankind"

Neil Armstrong received a Bachelor of Science in Aerospace Engineering from Purdue University. I went to Purdue, and I met him when he visited as a VIP alumnus. Sadly, we just lost a true American Hero.

On 20 July 1969, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first human beings to walk on the Moon. Here are 10 things you might not have known about Apollo 11, humanity's "one priceless moment".

 

1. All three crew members - Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Mike Collins - were born in the same year: 1930. All three were pilots (Collins and Aldrin in the USAF, Armstrong in the Navy). But there the similarities ended. Collins and Aldrin were from military "blue blood" families, Armstrong from small town Ohio. Collins dubbed the crew "the amiable strangers".

 

2. It was never a foregone conclusion that Apollo 11 would make the first lunar landing. Each Apollo mission had to fulfill various objectives. But if, for instance, Apollo 10 had failed in its mission, testing the lander (called the LM) in lunar orbit, then the task would have passed to Apollo 11. That would have given the first lunar landing attempt to Apollo 12 and made Pete Conrad the first man on the Moon.

 

3. Neil Armstrong might never have been the one to take that historic "one small step". It might have been his lunar module pilot, Buzz Aldrin. During the Gemini missions, the mission commander stayed in the capsule while the pilot carried out the spacewalks. Initially NASA - and Aldrin - thought the same would happen on Apollo. But Nasa managers were worried about the image of the first man on the Moon, a man who would become the next Christopher Columbus or Orville Wright. Aldrin had not won many friends at NASA because of his forthright style - "he was a burr in the saddle", said one senior manager. But Armstrong - the strong, quiet, courageous all-American hero - was a natural choice. NASA changed the rules and told Armstrong he would be first out of the lunar module. (Aldrin was furious and later drew up plans for a lunar lander with two doors that would allow the astronauts to get out at the same time.)

 

4. Armstrong was almost killed in the weeks leading up to the mission. The commander practised for the lunar landing in a contraption called the lunar landing training vehicle (LLTV), dubbed the Flying Bedstead. Using jets, it mimicked the Moon's gravity to give the Commander a realistic experience of what a lunar landing would be like. Armstrong practised on it tirelessly. But in May 1968, the machine went berserk. He tried in vain to bring it under control but failed. At just 100ft, he hit the eject button a second or so before the LLTV crashed to the ground and was destroyed in a fireball.

 

5. Each crew member was allowed to take personal items on board. Some of these could be sold later in lieu of the life insurance policies which, unsurprisingly, were hard to come by for Apollo astronauts. Armstrong took with him some pieces of wood from the Wright Flyer, which had made the first powered flight in 1903. There were also commemorative medals for the crew of Apollo 1, who had died in a fire on board their Command Module during a routine ground test, and the dead Soviet cosmonauts, Vladimir Komarov and Yuri Gagarin. (In fact, Valentin Bondarenko was the first man to die in the space race, but it wasn't until 1980 that the world learned of his grisly death in a fire in an oxygen-filled pressure chamber during an endurance experiment.)

 

6. The Apollo 11 mission could have ended in failure because of a series of relatively harmless computer alarms that went off as the lunar module was descending to the surface. It was saved thanks to a rehearsal weeks before the mission. Mission controllers were put through their paces in a series of practice runs, simulating a lunar landing. On the final day, one of the controllers called an abort because of a simulated computer program alarm. It had been the wrong call. But it meant that when there were similar alarms during the actual Apollo 11 landing, the same controller knew he could ignore them and allow the landing to continue.

 

7. When the lunar module Eagle was still 20 feet above the surface, Armstrong and Aldrin were told they had only 30 seconds of fuel left. If they still hadn't landed by then, Mission Control would have ordered Armstrong to abort the landing. But would he have? Back on Earth, Armstrong revealed: "If I'd run out of fuel, why, I would have put down right there. I could fall from a fairly good height, perhaps maybe 40 feet or more in the low lunar gravity, the gear would absorb that much of a fall. So I was perhaps probably less concerned about it than a lot of people watching on Earth." (As it turned out, after the mission NASA calculated that Eagle could have flown for at least another minute.)

 

8. When Armstrong made his famous announcement that the landing had been "one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind", he had actually meant to say "one small step for a man" but it had come out wrong. Considering it is one of the most famous quotations in human history, Armstrong has always been typically sanguine about it. "I thought about it after landing," said Armstrong afterwards, "and because we had a lot of other things to do, it was not something that I really concentrated on but just something that was kind of passing around subliminally or in the background. But it, you know, was a pretty simple statement, talking about stepping off something. Why, it wasn't a very complex thing. It was what it was."

 

9. There were many firsts about the Apollo 11 mission, but two of the most notable were the responsibility of Buzz Aldrin. He became the first human being to celebrate Holy Communion away from the Earth, and the first to urinate on another world.

 

10. Just in case the mission had ended in disaster, President Richard Nixon had prepared a suitable valedictory speech. It spoke of how "fate has ordained that the men who went to the Moon to explore in peace will stay on the Moon to rest in peace". It would have meant Mike Collins, the command module pilot, would have had to make the loneliest journey home; but from that time onwards "every human being who looks up at the Moon in the nights to come will know that there is some corner of another world that is forever mankind".

Help! Text the Police!

I had to call the police this week.  Actually, I had to call them twice. The first time, I called them directly - as in NOT by dialing 911. I called and said “this is NOT an emergency. At least not yet”.

I’ll give the short version here: a bunch of guys working at our home did a big “Bozo No-No” on our property, which prompted me to call the police. I told the police that I am about to explain to this contractor and his crew their multiple errors in judgment, and that there is a chance that HE might be calling 911 in a few minutes. I thought it would be a good idea if I called the police first, to get my side of the story on the record. I might not be able to speak intelligently during my conniption. 


 Now, I don’t know the last time you had to call the police for anything, but in my town, in my neighborhood in Northern New Jersey:

• The police have a website.
• All police officers in our town carry cell phones.
• All police use texting to and from their phones - to landline phones.

I have been selling cellular phones and service since 1983. I probably sent one of the first “texts” to and from phones as a paying customer, when it was around $0.50 per message. I found it amazing that the police in our town use texting - and - they actually prefer texting for non-emergency communications. 

 

Texting In Class During Exam - Hire that Man!

I don’t have the need to call the police often, and I cannot remember the last time I needed to do so.  But I had no idea that texting is now the preferred method of communication between the citizens and the local police. It turns out that the texts are a permanent record, and that the texts go to multiple people, including the 911 dispatch center, just in case it is indeed an emergency. The texting also automatically tracks the communication, so that via GPS tracking, the phone sending the text is tracked to within a few feet of the caller’s location.

Texting has become the preferred method of communication for the police. You can always dial 911, if it is a true emergency. But calling 911 in our town goes to the county Sheriff’s office. The Morris County Sheriff takes all 911 calls, for multiple towns in Northern New Jersey.  If you want your local constable, you should send them a text.  

 

What’s next?  Twitter?  Facebook? Texting is cool, but it might take some time for me to get used to texting the police. I have never in my life had to call the fire department, but I guess they will be next.

OMG! House is on fire. RU coming? Not LMAO!

By the way if you want my contact information, text TOM to 70101 and you will get my mobile business card on your cell phone. Seriously, try it. Paper business cards are so 90's