I used to be the owner of about 2,000 vinyl, long playing (LP) albums. Also known as records. As the 5″ optical disc (CD) grew in popularity, my CD collection followed suit and I began to pass along my albums to friends or sell them at garage sales. Slowly my music collection went from 12″ discs to […]
Continue reading
Archive | Technology RSS feed for this section
Radio Shack Nurtured a Culture of Everyday Technology
February 7, 2015 
1 Comment
We knew it was only a matter of time. We just didn’t know how much time. It appears as if that long dreaded day has arrived. By “it” I mean Radio Shack filing for bankruptcy. Radio Shack has been a staple on 4,000 American streets for decades. It was founded in 1921 by the Deutschmann brothers and was […]
Continue readingMoney 2020 Part 3 of 3: Tech Crime Takes Off
December 2, 2014 0 Comments
One of the most fascinating aspects of Money for me was sessions on fraud, security and of course hacking. I attended a keynote by Marc Goodman who started as a law enforcement officer in Los Angeles. He has been studying criminal behavior for years and has paired that knowledge with technology and of course the […]
Continue readingMoney 2020: The Future of Currency and Payments: Part 1 of 3
November 25, 2014 1 Comment
I attended the Money 2020 conference in Las Vegas this November. It’s a gathering of over 7,500 financial and technology professionals from over 60 countries. Essentially we all talk about the innovation of money and payments, both of which are undergoing unprecedented disruption. It was the forum’s 4th year but my first and I found it […]
Continue reading“i” is for Jobs, “A” is for Cook, and Other Thoughts about Time
September 14, 2014 0 Comments
Two days after the big Apple announcement event in Cupertino I’m was just beginning to digest all of the content. One of the things that hit home was subtle, meaningful and very much Apple. Amidst the hundreds of rumors and musings about what would be coming, the iWatch and a wallet of some sort were […]
Continue readingThe Death of “Just in Case” Web Design
February 18, 2014 0 Comments
Ever since the first web browsers were created in the mid 1990’s people have been endlessly debating on how to design a web site. Or more specifically their companies’ site. At first it was left to a small group of people to make the decisions, because it was probably a fad and why spend time […]
Continue readingTesla: Inventor of the Electrical Age: Book Review.
December 26, 2013 0 Comments
A search on Amazon of “Nikola Tesla in books” will repaint your browser with 1,872 choices. A Viemo search on Nikola Tesla will yield 552 videos across 56 pages. That’s too much content for me to absorb with my busy schedule so I did what I always do when faced with so many choices. I chose carefully. My choice […]
Continue readingSXSW – Storytelling
March 12, 2013 4 Comments
Austin welcomed the 20th SXSW Interactive event. That’s right twenty years. Despite the fact that digital moves at the speed of light, it has a way of creeping up on us. We’ve become so comfortable with it permeating nearly every corner of our lives we hardly notice when it does. And so there I was […]
Continue readingNo Longer an Empty (Nest)er
December 27, 2012 0 Comments
I received a Nest wireless thermostat as a present this year and I am beyond thrilled. I know Santa can bring many things so why ask for a thermostat? Most of us don’t give thermostats much thought. For decades the thermostat did not go through any evolution. It was a small, round ring on the […]
Continue readingSavvy or Dependent?
November 30, 2012 1 Comment
I heard a young man (Generation Y) ask me to finish this sentence about himself, “I am technology _________.” The obvious answer was “savvy,” but the answer he was looking for, to describe his generation and many who will follow, was “dependent.” We’re through the looking glass here and into all new technology territory. Savvy […]
Continue readingFour Years of Blogging – So What
October 24, 2011 0 Comments
This month marks my fourth year of writing on this blog. I have posted 265 times, created 147 categories and made 725 tags for all this content. This pales by comparison to tens of thousands of others, and I’m not even talking about the pros. For me this has been and continues to be an […]
Continue readingSay Goodbye to the Call Center
May 13, 2011 0 Comments
Earlier this week I attended the Customer Response Summit in Hollywood, Florida. It’s an In The Know event, a company that stays on the forefront of how corporations are dealing with customer care and customer experience in this rapidly evolving digital landscape. We used to call it Web 2.0, but that doesn’t capture what’s happening […]
Continue readingiPod Nano to Become a Touch Watch
December 4, 2010 1 Comment
Scott Wilson is the founder of Chicago based design firm MINIMAL, and he has a new project. Mr. Wilson and his colleagues are working to integrate the Apple iPod Nano into the first multi-touch wrist watch. How cool is that! Scott’s studio seems to have the chops to do this, having worked in technology, interaction and […]
Continue readingThe Art of Selecting a Technology Vendor
May 5, 2010 0 Comments
Lots of us find ourselves in a situation where we need to either acquire a new technology or replace a current supplier with someone else. It’s a complicated discussion to be taken seriously. I’ve probably led no less than 25 of these initiatives over my career. Some years ago we were looking to replace our […]
Continue readingFive Things Technology Salesmen Should Never Say to a Buyer
April 8, 2010 0 Comments
I’ve been a major stakeholder when it comes to purchasing technology for many years. Hardly a month goes by where I don’t meet with or speak to a technology salesman who is interested in moving up in my consideration set. These conversations have increased sharply over the last few years, as technology has become an […]
Continue readingSonos Controller 200 (SR200) – Product Review
December 27, 2009 0 Comments
I’m a huge fan of Sonos. It’s a great way to enjoy the music that resides on your computer throughout your house, even on the patio. I discovered Sonos nearly four years ago when I was building my home and looking for a whole house music system. I am delighted with my selection. Sonos recently […]
Continue readingTrust Agents – Book Review
November 24, 2009 1 Comment
Just finished Trust Agents: Using the Web to Build Influence, Improve Reputation, and Earn Trust by Chris Brogan and Julien Smith. Timely topic and certainly these gentlemen are more than qualified to tackle this subject. You never know what you are going to get with books. They can be academic and dry or too light […]
Continue readingArt, Journalism and Dialogue in the Internet Age
November 23, 2009 0 Comments
As a technology optimist I am almost always in favor of pushing the art and science of the web further. As we know the current period is hyper-focused on Social Media. We hear a lot of discussion about the new era of personal journalism. The news is now frequently reported by regular citizens who are […]
Continue readingThe Digital Planet – Brands Should Prepare for Arrival
November 14, 2009 1 Comment
I’ve spent some time pouring over Razorfish’s latest study FEED: A Digital Brand Report. In the past they have studied how consumers alter their behavior to adapt to new digital technologies. In this installment they look more closely at how consumers interact with brands online. With each one of these studies I read the stepping stones […]
Continue readingMultichannel Mania at the 2009 Forrester Consumer Forum
October 30, 2009 2 Comments
Just back from the Forrester Consumer Forum. I say just back, but actually it took place in my hometown, Chicago. There was a great turn out and some very engaging keynotes. One of the major benefits of attending a Forrester event is the quality of presenters and attendees. I had lunch with Brad Brooks, VP […]
Continue reading
Recent Comments