Month: May 2010

Magazines on My iPad

Recently, we’ve seen the introduction of the availability of  Wired Magazine and Time Magazine on the iPad.  You can download an app and have what you would have gotten before in the dead tree edition.

Here’s what Chris Anderson said about Wired’s launch on the iPad…

The tablet is our opportunity to make the Wired we always dreamed of. It has all the visual impact of paper, enhanced by interactive elements like video and animated infographics. We can offer you a history of Mars landings that lets you explore the red planet yourself. We can take you inside Trent Reznor’s recording studio and let you listen to snippets of his work in progress. And we can show you exactly how Pixar crafted each frame of its new movie, Toy Story 3.

I have to stay that I’m really impressed.  It’s a really compelling experience.   It’s just like you’re holding the paper edition.

The only thing that I don’t like is the price.  I pay $12/year for my subscription but you have to pay $5 per issue on the iPad.  This stinks.   I’d bet printing and distribution of the physical magazine is a big part of the cost.  Then, why are the digital and print magazines the same price?

I’m sure the price will change.  When it does, we’ll make an even bigger step to a world where we don’t use physical media.

My Interview in TECHcocktail

As promised, I also did an interview with Mark Bebawy from TECHcocktail on community management.  I’m pretty psyched about it.  Check it out and let me know what you think…

3. What advice would you give someone who was thinking of adding the position to their organization?
First, a Community Manager is the face for your company to a whole lot of your user base. It’s a job that’s way bigger than hiring some really green college sophomore who’s going to setup and monitor your Facebook page. Take hiring this position seriously. Don’t settle.

Second, when looking for a Community Manager, look within your own user base. Who’s your most passionate customer? A Community Manager needs to be able to communicate for the company but more importantly empathize with the needs of the customer.

One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) Shows Vision for the Tablet XO-3

As you know, the One Laptop per Child project is something that’s near and dear to my heart.   I love how they’re making technology and thus the world accessible to young people all around the globe.

Well, they just announced the 3rd generation version of their XO computer which will be a tablet for around $100.  I’m excited to track their progress.

Check out the video…

Justin Bieber and Why Social Media Rocks

I’ve haven’t listened to the radio in 5+ years and so have never heard a song by music sensation Justin Bieber but read about the interview with his manager at TechCrunch Disrupt.   He talked about how Justin uses social media.  Apparently, he has 2.7 million Twitter followers.  Here’s a key passage…

He noted that there may be a random girl in Iowa who never thought she’d ever talk to Justin Bieber, then he responds to her on Twitter. “That’s something she’ll remember for the rest of her life.”

Social media has broken down the wall that would have prevented people from connecting before and that’s awesome.

My Interview with John Moore

Yesterday, I did an e-mail interview with Boston Entrepeneur John Moore for his blog about some of the community management work that we do for AddThis at Clearspring….

A friend of mine on Twitter noted that the AddThis team, which is a clearspring company, provides great support  via its community. I reached out to Justin Thorp, the Community Manager for AddThis, to learn  more.

Q. How does social media fit into the overall goals of your business?
A. We utilize social media as a way to meet potential customers and sustain relationships with our existing customers.

I’m flattered to have gotten a couple of these recently.  I’ll post the next one up when it arrives.  Excited that more and more folks are interested in customer service and community management.

Game Changing Technology

I pay attention to a lot of technology trends.  Square is one of the first things that I’ve seen in a while where I’m like “wow, that’s game changing.”  When we all have credit card readers in our phones, think how many doors that opens.

Put in my order.  Can’t wait to get one.

If you’re not familiar with Square, check out these videos…