Thank you to INRN and TAF for hosting me as featured speaker on 11/3/2011.  It was a wonderful time talking to local artists and showcasing current web technologies and tools that have potential in helping their process.  For the full PowerPoint slides and direct URLs to sites mentioned during the presentation, click blow.

download the slides

• Weebly
• WordPress
• Blogger
• Google Sites
• For those wishing to sell tangible items check out Etsy.

Thank you all for attending today’s workshop on utilizing social tools, and social media for nonprofits. I have added my presentations below, and a list of valuable links that may help in your journey into the social realm.

Important links

• http://mashable.com/
• http://docs.google.com/
• http://www.google.com/nonprofits/
• http://chrisbrogan.com
• http://marketingovercoffee.com/
• http://twittergrader.com

14 weeks, 39 hours, 155 miles, 25,200 calories, and 2 pairs of shoes.

Those numbers blow me away every time I look at them. They are, in a sense, the compiled amount of time an energy it took to get ready for the Indianapolis Half Marathon.

Taking a cue from my lovely wife, I decided that it was the perfect time in my life to truly make a change and get into shape. Honestly, exercise goals have never really stuck with me in the past and I would typically get bored and stop after a week of work. This time it was different.

This go around I decided to do things differently to keep motivation and desire at a relatively high level.

1) micro-rewards

I would give myself little rewards as I hit important milestones.

Finished the first week of running? I bought myself an iPhone armband.

Ran all five days that week? I got a new running shirt, or maybe even socks.

These may seem like lame presents to myself, but they were things to look forward to and in the end would help accomplish my final goal.

2) external motivation

I knew that one of the only ways I would complete this or at least continue in staying motivated would be through the help of positive reinforcement from friends and family. Knowing that my wife was going though the same training was a god-send. It was comforting to know that both of us were reaching for the same goal and helped keep motivation high.

I also would talk with friends and family that had interest in exercise and nutrition. By getting their advice, or even just hearing about things to avoid made training that much easier. For everyone that let me complain about running in the rain, icing my knee, thank you so much.

3) SIGNING UP

The biggest motivator was also the easiest thing of the whole process — SIGNING UP. By simply signing up an paying the race entry fee, I instantly committed myself to running the half marathon. Handing over money made it a “real” thing that I couldn’t back out of and would need to see thru until the end.

There is nothing more intimidating and motivating than getting a race confirmation email or text. It meant that there was now a very real countdown in place chasing me everywhere I went.

Fourteen weeks. It makes me so happy to see what I’ve accomplished since July, and in turn, motivates me to do more.

What are you going to be proud of in 14 weeks?

Thank you to everyone who attended today’s presentations on Social Media presented by the Indiana Nonprofit Resource Network and the Allen County Fairgrounds. It was a wonderful day presenting on using LinkedIn, Blogs, and Twitter for nonprofits and how they can make use of these powerful tools. I want to thank everyone for their great questions and amazing engagement during today’s session. Below, I have embedded both of my presentations and provided laundry list of links that will be helpful in your further journey into social media.

Important Links

• Mashable.com - A wonderful resource for all things social media and up to date news.
• Mashable’s Twitter 101 Guide — A brilliant “how-to” in getting started and making the most out of twitter.
• Seesmic Web — The best all in one social media dashboard.
• Bit.ly — The most important URL tracking tool that everyone needs.

For your enjoyment, this is the sign I posted to my office door letting people I was out for the day hanging out with Nonprofit folks.

Over the past year I have been documenting my epic smart phone saga, switching between the BB Storm and the Motorola Droid.  For the most part the Droid has performed up to my high standards and been an amazing device.

However, there are some glaring problems with the Droid.  Luckily they are due to the Android operating system as a whole and less of the actual device (unlike the Storm).

The biggest problem the Droid needs to overcome is the lack of SEARCH for its exchange/email app.

The Gmail app has it.  HTC built it into Sense.  Why does the Google developed Exchange/Email app lack this ability?  Keep in mind this is a glaring oversight from a company that has built an entire empire on THE ABILITY TO SEARCH FOR THINGS!

So.  That is why I have decided to take the plunge and install Touchdown Exchange for my Droid.  It is an email replacement app for Android with specific purpose of giving more control and options for Exchange users.  Today is the first day of the 30 day trial, and I am dubbing the next 29 days the TOUCHDOWN CHALLENGE where I will be only using Touchdown Exchange for my non-Gmail needs. I will (hopefully) continue updating on my experiences with the app over the next month.

What are you using for email on your mobile device?  Are there things you wish it did better?

First and foremost, I would like to thank everyone who attended today’s “Guide to Social Media — Hands On Work Session” presented by the Indiana Nonprofit Resource Center. It was truly inspiring to work with such motivated individuals, and present such an engaging topic to everyone that attended. As promised, I have posted my PowerPoint slides online for those to view and review.

As always, if you have any questions, concerns, or feedback feel free to leave a comment.

Plugged ear? Check. Runny nose? Check. Puffy eyes? Check. Cough? Check.

Hurray! Allergy season has returned, and with a fury of a thousand spartans. Every year from May until mid-June my sinus cavity decides to wage war against the rest of my body. My normal course of action usually involves a good mix of benadryl, and sudafed. I’ve tried every long term allergy relief medicine from Claritin to Clarinex to Zyrtec, and none of help in any sort of lasting relief.

Now, this summer those normal symptoms have decided to gang up and make things worse. It seems like I have been battling a sinus cold/infection for almost a week now. I took some time off last week to sleep and try and get better, but it doesn’t look like that has helped. It looks like this guy will be needing to bounce over to a doctors office sometime soon.

Gross.

What is it?

The Entourage eDGe is a hybrid ebook and mobile tablet device that combines both platforms into a compact netbook format. Offering clamshell form factor for users to read e-books, or use an android touch tablet, the eDGe is the self proclaimed first “dualbook” device on the market.

The device itself includes two 9inch screens that fold as a clamshell body, with a total weight just a little over 3lbs and 1in thick. This is a large device, and is 3 times thicker than the Kindle DX, and 2 times thicker than the iPad.

What does it do?

Listed as the first ever Dualbook, Entourage is trying their hardest to attack multiple device markets with one device. With the eDGe, Entourage looks to be attacking both the ebook market (ie. Amazon’s Kindle) and tablet/mobile (ie. Apple’s iPad) device market with their hybrid dualbook.

Entourage has installed Google’s Android OS for their mobile device, making it one of the first Android alternatives to the iPad.  However, the eDGe is making use of Android version 1.6, and is currently behind the majority of Android devices as the current OS version is 2.1.

eBook Experience

The eDGe offers a nice 9.7in screen for it’s e-reader, and allows for more text to be displayed on the screen compared to many 6in e-reader competitors like the original Kindle, or Barnes & Nobel’s Nook.  The fonts are crisp, clear, and easy on the eyes with the option to choose both serif or sans-serif fonts depending on users preference.

Page turning and refreshes are a bit on the slow side compared to the Kindle, but right on par with the Nook.  Reading on this device was pleasant, and it was easy to thumb through pages using the back and forward buttons.  However, it is unfortunate that the eDGe offers no touch page turning ability a la iPad.

Tablet Experience

Entourage makes use of the open Android OS platform for their tablet experience, and fall short in their offering.  As a user of an Android mobile phone (Motorola Droid on Verizon), I was looking forward to see how Android would perform on a larger screen and device.  Unfortunately, in a world where “Droid Does”, the eDGe just “doesn’t” and really fails to make an impressive showing.

Having more than one App open brought the device to sluggish halt, and Mobile browsing with more than one tab open isn’t recommended.  It is nice to see that Entourage has pre-installed some productivity apps for document editing with DocsToGo.  However, the lag in typing on the virtual keyboard make them almost unusable.

Wrap Up

As a device that touts its ability to have the best of both worlds of eReaders and Tablets, it surprisingly doesn’t do either very well.  It would be easy to forgive the awkward size and weight of the eDGe, but the lack of performance power keeps it from being a true contender in today’s fierce mobile market.  With a price point of $499, most consumers would be hard pressed to to choose the eDGe over other comparable eReaders or mobile devices.

This weekend we had the absolute pleasure of seeing Lafayette Civic’s rendition of Cabaret, and it was nothing short of stunning.  Featuring a brilliant cast of some new and familiar faces, that pull of an almost impossible task of making you love and hate them at the same time.  With a beautiful set that takes you back to pre-WWII Berlin, Cabaret is a wild and fun romp into the land of excess.  A great show to end the Lafayette Civic season, Cabaret is a must see for any mature lover of theater and musicals.  If you are looking for something fun and entertaining to pass the time in the next two weeks, go downtown to the Monon Depot or buy tickets online.  Cabaret is running on the weekends through May 23rd.

Performances: May 7 — 23, 2010 at the Historic Monon Depot Theatre

Fridays and Saturdays 8:00 PM

Sundays 2:30 PM

Thursday May 20, 2010 8:00 PM

UPDATE: I can’t believe I forgot to originally post this, but it also features fellow blogger, and friend Lisa Stanforth aka The Blond Blogette.  Be sure to see it and tell her how awesome she is (because she is )

What are your essential apps that you can’t go one day without?