One of my favorite Meetups is the monthly NJ Tech gathering. It’s a great crowd with excellent speakers and there is always a wait list.
Here’s how it works every month.
Pizza and networking.Opening remarks.A word from the sponsors.A chance for the crowd to give rapid fire pitches or requests.Three quick startup presentations with Q&A.The guest speaker.Vote on the best startup.Adjourn for beer.
Repeat that formula every month and you have a pretty killer meetup.
Aaron Price – Master of Ceremonies
Aaron Price is the mastermind who organizes this extravaganza. Every month he lines up both smart startups willing to throw themselves to the lions and high profile special guests. Just a few of the past speakers include Ari Meisel, David Kidder, Scott Belsky, Peter Bell and Bob Dorf. NJ Tech’s Stanley Cup
Tonight, three startups each got five minutes to present and five minutes to answer questions. Yes, the stakes are high. The merciless crowd picks the best pitch and awards them the highly coveted, “recycled and rebranded” trophy.
Startup #1 iBE.net
First up tonight was iBE.net. They provide an enterprise cloud software solution for small and medium sized businesses that works across devices.
Startup #2 Geekrowd
Then, Geekrowd pitched their “platform as a service.” They are a jSON api for developers who want to build social apps and tools.
Startup #3 Sproute
The final pitch came from Sproute. They provide a B2B2C white label digital concierge for travelers. Currently, they are working on a new name and prepping for launch.
Lewis Schiff on how to be Business Brilliant
The main event was a speech from entrepreneur and writer, Lewis Schiff. His focus tonight was the major points from his recent book, Business Brilliant. Outlining his simple four point LEAP strategy on how Ultra High Net Worth players get wealthy and stay wealthy, Lewis spoke with conviction and drew on hard data to back up his findings.
LEAP – Learn, Earn, Assistance, Persistence
1 LEARN Discover the few things you are exceptionally good at that will make you money. Focus almost solely on those skills.
2 EARN Make money doing what you do best. Move up the ladder from being a player to being the proprietor. A job will make you money. A business can make you very rich.
3 ASSISTANCE Develop your network. Know the people who will bring you business and opportunities. Choose wisely and surround yourself with a few truly great people.
4 PERSISTENCE Fail, fail, fail…and learn from failure. Don’t give up and keep going. Stay focused. Have faith in failure.
And Sproute wins it all!
Finally, the moment we had all been waiting for. Which startup would bask in the glory of the NJ Tech Meetup’s blessing? The audience voted by phone and the real-time results yielded a winner….Sproute. And the crowd went wild!
This is a can’t-miss meetup. Come join us on August 2nd with Scott Heiferman, founder of Meetup or September 16th with Michele Brown, CEO of the NJ Economic Development Authority. It would be great to see you there.
A few weeks ago the New York Public Library launched NYPL Time Traveller, an app that connects to your Foursquare account and surfaces historical pictures when you check in near historical places around New York City. When you check in, Foursquare alerts you that there are historical pictures nearby and you can click through to check them out. I love anything that supercharges the Foursquare experience and hooked it up immediately.
Check out history when you check in
The photos come from the library’s Photographic Views of New York City collection. The archive is more than 54,000 photos deep ranging from the 1870s through the 1970s with the bulk coming from the 1910-1940 period. The app was created as part of the NYPL Historical Geolocation Hackathon.
Step back 96 years in time
Another historical photos app that covers the same territory is Fourstalgia which launched about a year ago. The app was created by Jon Hoffman, a coder at Foursquare, and draws upon the archives of SepiaTown. I raved about it here last summer.
Places that are gone
Having two powerful apps that make my check ins more interesting and informative only makes Foursquare a more valuable tool when I am out and about. History is a big draw for me and I love the ability to dig beneath the surface and add context to my daily travels.
However, I want MORE from Fourstalgia and Time Traveller. Give me information about the buildings, structures and places from the past. Photos are the primary attraction, but additional context, depth and knowledge are key to fuller engagement with both apps. One huge plus with Fourstalgia is the photos are big and well-captioned. The Time Traveller does date the photos, however they are small and dark. You can tap to enlarge, but they don’t get that much bigger. It is such a shame to have a rich archive only to shortchange the user with tiny photos. Another advantage with Fourstalgia is their photo library is global while Time Traveller is NYC-only. Both apps allow social sharing to Twitter.
Please make the pictures biggerBig, bold pictures
In the end both are great add-ons to Foursquare and provide a richer way to explore the city. Give them both a test drive and let me know what you think.
It seems oddly fitting that I am writing about the home of tomorrow from a home of the past. Roughly 50 miles from PSFK’s Future of Home Living Experience, I am spending a few nights in a tent pondering the home of the future as well as the massive transformations that have shaped the home of the present. The 100 degree temperature, soupy humidity and bloodthirsty mosquitoes have me yearning (possibly begging) for the basics we take for granted – windows, indoor plumbing, air conditioning and electricity.
PSFK has taken on the challenge of defining the trends in furniture, gadgets, electronics, apps and design that will shape and define The Future of Home Living. In an airy 5,000 square foot space at the corner of Sixth Avenue and 15th Street in New York, PSFK has created an interactive exhibit showcasing dozens of remarkable products and experiences.
I had an opportunity to attend a preview walk though in the space. While they were still putting the final touches on the exhibit (which opens on Monday 7/23 and runs through Friday 8/16), the space is bright, open and inviting. It is loosely divided into areas dedicated to each part of an apartment or house. Living room, kitchen, bathroom, bedroom and more, showcasing the interconnected, environmentally friendly, super-convenient house of the future. PSFK’s founder Piers Fawkes and Director of Consulting Scott Lachut gave an energetic in-depth tour and thoughtfully answered questions about the gleaming products on display.
The three broad themes running throughout the exhibit are Adaptive, On-Demand and Equilibrium.
The Thin Bike solves bike storage for the apartment dweller
Adaptive focuses on customizable solutions for multiple uses in small spaces. The Thin Bike, Peg Furniture System and ZIG Sofa are three examples of products that can work in tighter living spaces providing maximum flexibility.
WunWun crowdsources personal tasks and odd jobs
On-Demand centers on the networked home and the ability to outsource chores and errands. GetUpArt Service, WunWun and Hello Fresh Delivery are ultra-convenient services that maximize leisure time.
Aquafarm brings fish and fresh herbs to your countertop
Equilibrium is all about balance in a chaotic world. The Dezibel Floor Screen, Aquafarm and HAPIfork are all products that help us lead a quieter, more environmentally-friendly and healthier life.
Oru Kayak folds up for the urban kayaker
From the hydroponic plant system in the window to the folding kayak and wireless/3D everything, the exhibit only disappoints in its focus on gadgets rather than the big-picture thinking for which PSFK is known. Their report on The Future of Work was revelatory. It showed how we will communicate, collaborate and innovate in the future. PSFK provided not only a blueprint for the the workspace of the future, but a clear road map for how we will get there.
I wanted the same depth and immersive thought applied to the hows and whys of home living in the future. What will be the transformative technologies and forces that redefine our living spaces? However, the Future of Home Living Experience is still a fascinating look at some incredible technology and services that will make our lives better, healthier and more balanced.
If you are interested you can sign up for the exhibit here. And please, let me know what you think.
Recently I passed on an iPhone 4 to my son. He’s 10 years old and he was absolutely dying for a phone. Like all my gadgets it was crammed with apps, pictures, music, videos and more.
Almost immediately he was out of memory. He wanted to have more space and i said you need to delete some apps. Watching him was a beautiful thing.
He went through his deck like a madman. Boring. Delete. Don’t want it. Delete. Why do I have this? Delete. I hate this game. Delete. Outgrown. Delete. Delete. Delete Delete.
It was amazing. In just a few minutes he had effortlessly and ruthlessly deleted 2GB of apps. No sentiment. No wavering. Just business.
I painstakingly debate whether to trash apps and anything else that is overloading my phone. With hundreds of games, services, social networks and utilities all mostly losing the battle for my attention, why is it so easy to add more stuff and so hard to lose it?
)Yes, I downloaded an app while writing this, but I deleted one as well, so that’s something.)
It’s just stuff, but the emotional and intellectual attachment is strong. Do I need more memory or just the execution-style app killing skills of my son? Maybe I can implement his process to clean up my iPhone, my iPad and maybe a few junk drawers as well.
In these days of app, email, text, music, video and information overload and the push to unplug and unclutter we can learn a powerful lesson from a 10 year old.
I wanted to resist when I saw the bike stations pop up overnight. I wanted to fight back when I saw the rows of gleaming, new bikes. However, once I saw those first few riders navigating the streets of Manhattan, I succumbed and signed up for an annual CitiBike pass.
For three weeks I waited, enviously watching riders zip about town while i walked the sidewalk with the regular prisoners. Finally my CitiBike key arrived in the mail last weekend.
Now, it was time to ride.
Just one of 6,000 bikes
My first excursion wasn’t without problems, all of them traceable to my refusal to read the introductory packet. Stupid fine print. Three stations and a fair amount of head scratching later I finally sorted out how to unlock a bike and I was on my way.
I rode from 7th Avenue and 15th Street up to 7th and 31st. I must admit, it was glorious! The bike lane up 8th Ave was comfortably busy with fellow CitiBikers and plenty of other cyclists. The breeze and ease of my commute mitigated the heat and humidity. I pulled into my destination station just steps away from work, locked it up and headed inside.
I’ve taken ten rides so far. Seven of them would have been cab or subway rides. Three were walkable, but biking it was so much fun and much faster. At $2.50 a subway ride the annual pass should pay for itself quickly.
The CitiBike app is a must-have
Availability around the busier transportation hubs can be tricky so prepare to know where all the nearby stations are located. The CitiBike app is a great help showing realtime availability as well as best routes for getting around the city.
The bikes are solid, heavy and slow which is perfect for pounding the potholes of New York City’s streets. The brakes are good and the ride is comfortable. With only three gears and 40 pounds of bike, there won’t be any land speed records broken, but that seems to be by design. They are built for durability, not speed.
Take your pick. Plenty of bikes on 31st Street
After one week I am hooked. Let’s hope the city supports and builds out the program across all five boroughs. While there are plenty of detractors, this is a service that could positively impact the city in so many ways.
Get out there and ride. Then let me know what you think. Happy riding!
I saw the first Best of 2012 Music list a few days before Thanksgiving . It seemed premature and incomplete as there were 6 weeks left to go and I still had plenty of listening to do before I could even get my head around a year’s worth of music. Typically, I hit publish between Christmas and New Year’s Eve. Not this year, not even close. Before 2012 is forgotten forever let’s get this one out the door so I can focus on the music of 2013.
Every year I hope to offer up the music that mattered to me as opposed to a balanced, definitive list of what we’re supposed to like. Plenty of other folks can do that. LargeHeartedBoy.com compiled over 1000 Best Of lists if you really want to dig deep into any genre and discover the music that defined 2012. I just want to share some great music and hear about what you liked. Oddly enough a record from 2011 informed and shaped the listening path I took last year. The Caretaker’sAn Empty Bliss Beyond This World set the tone with its quiet, otherworldly beauty and texture. Much of what I sought out in 2012 featured longer songs, older music, drones, repetition and less emphasis on guitars and individual songs.
TOP TEN
Godspeed You Black Emperor – Allelujah! Don’t Bend! Ascend!
It’s been 10 years since Yanqui U.X.O. and I had almost forgotten about the sprawling majesty of this band and their epic sonic assaults. I have most of their catalogue and it amounts to a mere 19 tracks, yet each record requires repeated, attentive listening. Allelujah! is an immersive journey best played loud. Two cascading guitar driven cathartic sound collages and two layered, scouring drones This is beautiful noise.
Swans – The Seer
Another epic from a band that could be hitting their peak (or maybe that was Children of God) after 30 years. Swans split in 1997 and leader Michael Gira focused on solo work, Angels of Light and running Young God Records. In 2010 Swans reconvened with the solid My Father Will Guide Me Up A Rope To The Sky. The Seer combines the best of the band’s pummeling, punishing earlier sound and adds light and space to an uncompromising, incredible two hours of music.
John Talabot – fIN
Combining deep house, retro techno, found sounds and samples, plus a strong pop undercurrent, Spanish DJ John Talabot has created a record that bubbles and percolates across 11 gorgeous tracks. He’s been around in various incarnations for over a decade but fIN is his proper debut.
Moon Duo – Circles
Fantastic drugged-out psychedelia with a propulsive Krautrock undertow, Moon Duo’s music is driven intoxicating guitar noise barely masking groovy pop sensibilities. Wooden Shjips guitarist Ripley Johnson is three albums deep into what seemed to start as a side project, but is now definitely much more.
DIIV – Oshin
With a sound reminiscent of early Echo and the Bunnymen or pre-Starfish Church, DIIV do dream-pop with sweet jangling guitars and vocals that ebb and flow across the songs. A few individual tracks stand out, but this all works together better as a blissful whole.
Andy Stott – Luxury Problems
Stott’s two 2011 records were my introduction to his bass-heavy, pulsating production. Both were stellar releases that revealed more and more with each successive listen. Luxury Problems slows down the tempo and adds layers of gorgeous vocals and textures to create something new and incredible beyond its dub, techno, house foundations.
Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti – Mature Themes
Mr. Pink can be a bit polarizing. His lo-fi subversive twist on 60s and 70s pop isn’t for everyone. There’s a little Zappa darkness lurking under the bright, sunny tunes. His vocals take a bit getting used to and you always feel like he is playing an elaborate prank on his fans. However, it is difficult to deny the songs. If you hated it the first time, give it a second listen.
The Chromatics – Kill For Love
The Chromatics defy easy description. As soon as you think you’ve pinned them down, they head off in a different direction. Combining synth-pop with disco, post-punk, indie rock and moments of icy minimalism, this album kicks off with a thrilling deconstruction of Neil Young’s “Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black) and just gets better from there. It had been five years since their last album, but it was worth the wait.
Field Music – Plumb
On their fourth album the Brewis brothers draw on both lush melodic pop and prog-rock, but strip the sound down to its essence. The clever songwriting, sharp musicianship and tight harmonies make this my favorite batch of songs since their debut.
Darcys – Aja
The Darcys take one of the most highly-polished, perfectly produced pop albums of all time and deconstruct it as a post-rock homage to Steely Dan’s masterpiece. Their tense, sparse take on the original material helps it transcend the novelty and stand on its own.
TEN MORE
Advance Base – A Shut-In’s Prayer Sadness and cynicism from Owen Ashworth who did the same as Casiotone For The Painfully Alone.
Pinback – Information Retrieved Better living through precision. They do what they do and they do it well.
Scott Walker – Bish Bosch Difficult listening at its finest. Rumbling, clattering, caterwauling majesty.
Yeasayer – Fragrant World The difficult third album from a band that nobody can agree on.
Shackleton – Music for the Quiet Hour Dub and darkness on an epic sonic journey to the center of your mind.
Grizzly Bear – Shields It’s all about the details. Listen, listen and listen again.
Demdike Stare – Elemental Parts 1 & 2 Sloooowww, dark and droning. The low end will rattle your brain.
Lotus Plaza – Spooky Action at a Distance Deerhunter guitar player, Lockett Pundt, creates an elegantly restrained album of gauzy, dreamy, indie pop.
Dan Deacon – America He shoots for the title of “serious composer” and scores.
Scuba – Personality Techno as an escape hatch from the world of dubstep
What were your favorites? I am interested in what YOU liked.
Coming soon – Best 2012 reissues and compilations, maybe just in time for summer.
Music formats come and go. 78s, 45s, LPs, 8-tracks, reel-to-reel, cassettes, CDs, MP3s. Some come back again and others disappear. On one hand vinyl is stronger than it has been in almost three decades while the lowly cassingle (or cassette single) has been banished to the crap can of history. Even the much-maligned 8-track has made an ironic comeback, the cassingle will likely never make a revisionist return. It was designed to be cheap and disposable.
Music you will deny ever buying
The cassingle emerged in the 80s as an inexpensive, portable replacement for the dying 7″ market. From 1987-1995 sales boomed. In 1990 there were more than 90 million sold. By 1996 sales had dropped off a cliff and by 1999 it was all over. Wrapped in a simple cardboard sleeve, shrinkwrapped and sold for a couple of bucks, they were the YouTube clips of their day. Some had the single and a b-side, but many just gave you the single on both sides of the tape. Kids could buy the hits and slap them in the Walkman, boombox or car stereo. Instant gratification in the analog world!
Enter the Goldmine
Little did I know that in my very own basement there lurked a treasure trove of these three minute nightmares. While moving things around so I could paint the walls and floor I made the discovery. Tucked away in a box, more than a hundred of them waited for me to come along and unleash their big-haired, shoulder-padded power. There must be at least one nugget buried in this goldmine. I dumped out the box and began digging. George Michael, Janet Jackson, Pet Shop Boys, Roxette, Paula Abdul and countless other misdemeanors against music. Shuddering as I dug further, I uncovered three true atrocities, Jive Bunny and the Mastermixers, Gerardo and Billy Ray Cyrus.
Crimes against music
I almost gave up. And then I found it buried underneath everything. Pure gold. A song that will live forever. Yes, it was BIZ MARKIE! Now I just need a cassette player and I am in business.
Nobody beats the Biz
If you want to know more there is a website, Cassette Single World, dedicated to fans and the digital collection of “every Cassette Single ever released.” Enjoy!
It started as a debate over where to put the Christmas tree. I wanted it in the corner of the living room where it would cause the least impact. My kids had other plans. They wanted it in the window so you could see it from the street. I countered that it would block the TV. Their response:
“But we don’t even watch TV anymore!”
In unison, they shot down my argument. What was once the centerpiece of the living room was now just another piece of furniture they didn’t care about. The fears of advertisers and television programmers were embodied in those seven words.
I’ve written about my kids and their decreasing use of screen #1 before, but it bears repeating. They never watch TV. Maybe a bit of wii here and there or a family movie, but when it comes to watching video, the iPad, iPhone and desktop computer rule at our house.
My son is rooted in front of the computer playing Minecraft and watching countless YouTube fan videos and mod walkthroughs. Yes, he skips ads like a master. His current goal is to create his own YouTube channel. My daughter hides behind furniture or in her room with an iPad exhausting the Tween shows on Netflix. Sorry television, it’s not them, it’s you.
The future of media isn’t the second screen or third screen or some new manifestation of broadcast and cable. The future of media probably isn’t technology at all, it is users redefining a new unbundled experience that is personal, mobile and immediate. The future of media is sitting on my couch. Or more likely hunched over the desktop or squirreled away in a bedroom with an iPad. The future of media wants great content, but they won’t wait, so we’d better hurry.
Most of my town is without power, phones or wifi. The amazing people along the few blocks that do have power provided free coffee, powerstrips and wifi. People are pretty amazing and I’ve had the opportunity to meet so many neighbors. A lot of wreckage, but a lot of positive action. Go Hoboken!
One of my favorite books as a kid was The Five Chinese Brothers. I loved the story of five identical siblings who escaped a wrongful conviction and death sentence through smarts and special skills. However, my favorite part and the bit forever burned in my memory was the first brother who could swallow the sea. The thought of uncovering hidden treasure, pirate skeletons, shipwrecks, exotic fish and the unknown, unseen bottom of the sea was irresistible to a curious kid.
Today I am just as curious if not more. I want new information, hidden knowledge, the practical and the ephemeral. Every day I want to swallow not just the sea, but the ocean. Scouring websites, twitter, email newsletters, rss feeds and countless other sources, I strip mine for the remarkable, the random and the wonderful. Deploying apps and search engines, I connect the infinite dot-to-dot of our world. My desktop, iPhone and iPad are gateways to the curated and serendipitous discovery of knowledge, both useful and useless.
My meme driven life can be a daunting task. There is so much ocean and I can only devour so much. When I finally end my day and reluctanly put my phone on the bedside table for the last time, I recount what I learned and try to synthesize and make connections. Like the first brother I must release the ocean and start again the next day.
Last week I heard a terrific Creative Mornings lecture from designer Simon Collison who advised us all to clear away the distractions. Ignore the endless twitter stream, avoid email, turn off your devices and focus on the task at hand. Be productive. Design. Build. Make. If the information is important enough, it will find you.
I agree that we need to step away from distraction to focus and finish the job, but there is too much to learn, see and experience. Too many great ideas. Too much remarkable brilliance to fit into such a short day. I am on information overload and it’s a good thing. The hunting and gathering energizes and drives me forward. It’s what I do. Excuse me, but the tide is rising and I’ve got an ocean to swallow.
worldonshuffle 