The Jeff Pulver Blog

Hot Air Ballooning in Jackson Hole, Wyoming

jeff — 2009-07-20T03:35:05-05:00

On the morning of July 18th, I got up at 4:45AM and at 5:30AM joined a group of others from the Internet Cowboys UnConference (ICUC09) who decided to give Hot Air Ballooning a try.

We spent about one hour in the air and rose to a peak of about 3,500 feet which brought us to an altitude of about 10,000 ft above sea level.

The ride was smooth and quiet except for when the pilot needed to navigate the balloon. Overall the experience was a bit surreal. I highly recommend giving Hot Air Ballooning a try.

Tags: Jackson Hole, Yossi Vardi, ICUC, ICUC09, Jeff Keni Pulver

Call for Characters: Join the Cast of the 140 Characters Conference

jeff — 2009-07-19T10:11:27-05:00

The 140 Characters Conference will be taking place October 27/28 in Los Angeles and November 10/11 in London.

If you are a "Character" or would like to nominate a "Character" please feel free to send email to: jeff @ pulver.com or tweet your nomination and include #140conf. The deadline for nominations is July 24th.

The following video explains in greater detail what #140conf is all about:

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Tags: 140conf, social media, 140 Characters Conference, twitter, Jeff Pulver

Jeff Pulver talking about "The State of NOW" on The Deal's: Behind the Money

jeff — 2009-07-17T09:02:10-05:00

A couple of days after #140conf I sat down with The Deal's Mary Kathleen Flynn and spoke about twitter and "The State of Now."

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What do you think about "The State of NOW" ? Has the way you are approaching the Internet noticeably different this year as compared to last year? What markets do you think will be the most disrupted in the advent of the Real-Time Internet?

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Tags: 140conf, social media, 140 Characters Conference, twitter, Jeff Keni Pulver

Next stop: Jackson Hole, Wyoming

jeff — 2009-07-16T04:38:26-05:00

I�m up early and heading to the airport.

Today I am heading out to attend the 3rd �Internet Cowboys un-Conference� taking place in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. I am looking forward to being part of the group of people attending, contributing to and participating in this event taking place on a ranch.

I�m honored to be invited and have the opportunity to once again participate in the experience.

I�m not sure what my Internet connectivity will be like but I look forward to posting photos and videos from this event here in my blog while I am in Jackson Hole.

Tags: Jackson Hole, Yossi Vardi, ICUC, ICUC09, Jeff Keni Pulver

Take a Chance on YOURSELF

jeff — 2009-07-15T10:58:07-05:00

Being an Entrepreneur sometimes means being the first person to see an opportunity. And sometimes you may be the only person who sees that opportunity or feels it in their gut. And that�s o.k. This is how opportunities are created.

The difference between the would be Entrepreneur and the successful Entrepreneur isn�t whether or not every idea one has is a great idea, but rather whether or not the person with the great idea has what it takes to take a chance on themselves and pursue their idea and make it REAL. There is nothing wrong with being confident when thinking about and sharing your idea. And not everyone you speak with to is going to �get it.� One thing I learned the hard way is that it is o.k. to bounce ideas off of friends. The benefit of sharing an idea is that you can avoid being blindsided. Your better friends will know your blind spots and you should give them a chance to be heard.

As an investor in other people�s dreams, often I am approached by people who have an idea for something which could in my mind be amazing, but for some reason the would be Entrepreneur did not take any steps (yet) to pursue their dream and make it real. Most of the time I am more likely to invest in the person who had the confidence and took a chance on themselves and did whatever they could to take their idea and make it real.

The next time you see a chance, take it. The next step you take may change your life.

Tags: Entrepreneurship, leadership, Entrepreneur, Jeff Pulver

Mark Twain on Getting Yourself Lucky:

jeff — 2009-07-14T06:39:07-05:00

"All you need in this life is ignorance and confidence, and then success is sure." - Mark Twain

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Tags: Entrepreneurship, leadership, Entrepreneur, Mark Twain

Taking that next Step...

jeff — 2009-07-13T11:44:31-05:00

There are times in your life when it will be up to YOU to make that first move, take that next step, be the one who moves things forward. This is a moment in your life that no one else can do on your behalf. This can not be outsourced. This is something YOU need to do for yourself.

Procrastination is your enemy, not your friend. Like it or not, some things can�t go forward without YOU there to make your move.

There have been times in my life where I spent way too much time on the edge and did not have what it took to move myself forward. This resulted in missed quite a number of missed opportunities and eventually a lot of work to get myself back to the place I was prior to missing that opportunity.

When you know in your gut that the next move is up to you, do whatever you need to dig down deep inside and make that move, whatever it is, and wherever it make take you.

The next step you take may change your life.

Tags: Entrepreneurship, leadership, Entrepreneur, Jeff Pulver

Have you had a similar experience? Please feel share your comments and thoughts below:

Scott Porad: #140conf: Yes, It Was Important

jeff — 2009-07-12T08:30:22-05:00

�Interestingly, Twitter changed a lot in the time between when Jeff Pulver invited me to speak at #140conf and when I actually gave my presentation. I wouldn�t quite say it hit the mainstream, but it went from underground to mainstream visibility, from a code word to a phrase in the lexicon. My 93 year old grandfather has heard of Twitter now (although he doesn�t have a clue as to what it is). More succinctly put: @oprah. Enough said.

Twitter is the cutting edge of social media, and it�s only in an embryonic state. One of the most stunning statistics I heard while at the conference was that all the tweets combined only add up to something like 1% of all text messages sent in the US. And text messaging is by no means ubiquitous just yet...�

Read the rest of Scott�s blog post here.

Watch Scott's presentation at #140conf here:

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Tags: 140conf, social media, 140 Characters Conference, twitter, Scott Porad

Backstage at Mesudarim:

jeff — 2009-07-11T21:04:46-05:00

The following are photos from my visit to the Set of Mesudarim. I am looking forward to making my debut on Israeli TV on 21 July at 2100 on Israel�s Channel 2.

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Tags: Mesudarim, Israel, Channel 2, Israeli TV, Jeff Keni Pulver

Guest Blogger: Daniel Berninger - An HD Upgrade for the Most Important Communication Link in the World

jeff — 2009-07-10T16:53:47-05:00

The communication hotline President Kennedy installed between the White House and Moscow in 1963 remains operational and deserves a high definition (HD) upgrade. The original hotline involved teletype (not voice), but upgrades over the years added voice and fax capability. The link based at the Pentagon's National Military Command Center (not the White House) still gets tested every hour 24 hours per day. Maintaining the link requires a decent size team even as it gets called into action only occasionally, but the $1mn budget represents a remarkable bargain relative to the cost of most nuclear deterrent activities.

The original idea for the hotline arose from a White House committee headed by 2005 Nobel Laureate Thomas Schelling assembled to find ways of minimizing risks associated with "war by accident, surprise, and miscalculation" in the late 1950's. The hotline proposal remained little more than a good idea for several years until President Kennedy discovered, during the Cuban missle crisis in October 1962, the difficulty of communicating with Moscow (and other heads of state) on short notice. The success of the original hotline gave rise to others. The State Department's Nuclear Risk Reduction Center operates a number of hotlines between the US and other countries. France and
the UK have their own hotlines with Moscow. Israel and Egypt implemented a hotline after their peace agreement.

Hotlines operate independent of the global telephone network for reasons of security and reliability. Voice quality adds a third and at least as important reason to avoid the telephone network. The voice quality improvement provide by HD can dramatically reduce errors in comprehension. HD offers a user experience that approaches the quality of an in-person conversation. The standard frequency response of plain old telephone service drops over half the energy associated with voice and makes 15 and 50 and lots of other words indistinguishable. The prospect of understanding a non-native speaker increases dramatically with HD. The globally secure data circuits necessary to support HD already exist, so nothing except the will to get started prevents a HD upgrade.

The benefits of HD voice quality, the wide availability of broadband, and inexpensive off-the-shelf components make HD hotlines compelling for more than just connecting world leaders. Most people have relationships that could benefit from a HD hotline either in personal or business contexts. It seems strange that the CEO of IBM continues to suffer the same mediocre voice quality in conversations with his legal team as teens chatting after school. Setting up a HD hotline is not complicated uses broadband connections that likely already exist and HD phones available for less than $200. It may actually be the teens that adopt HD hotlines first, because the use of VoIP technology and data connections leave HD hotlines unmetered. It does not cost extra to talk 24 hours a day and 7 days a week.

Each advance in communication from the telegraph to the telephone to the Internet and HD hotlines makes the world a little smaller, but improving communication between world leaders does not translate directly into world peace. Communication tools do not automatically manufacturer trust, but they do provide opportunities to reduce misunderstanding. The US taxpayers spent $10's of millions of dollars recently so President Obama could travel to Moscow to meet with President Menvedev and reduce the risk of misunderstanding. No one doubts the value of the original hotline between the countries, and it seems self-evident the original hotline should offer the best available voice quality. At $200 for each HD capable device, the same logic applies to just about every context where communication matters.

Please join us for a discussion about HD hotlines and other emerging communications topics at the brown bag lunch "Conversation with Jeff Pulver" ) hosted by Mintz Levin in Washington, DC on Tuesday, July 14, 2009. RSVP to this event on Facebook

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Daniel Berninger is CEO, FWD. His bio can be seen here.

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Tags: voip, FCC, public policy, Washington, D.C., social media, HD Hotlines, Daniel Berninger, Jeff Keni Pulver

Call for Characters: Announcing #140conf Los Angeles and London

jeff — 2009-07-10T10:02:05-05:00

The 140 Characters Conference (#140conf) that took place June 16-17 2009 is now history. In two days, approx. 140 people spoke on one stage in 69 different sessions. You can now watch the videos from the conference over at http://140conf.com. Special thanks to everyone who participated in the event, both in person and on the net.

I am looking for a new �Cast of Characters� for #140conf: LA taking place October 27/28 in the Wadsworth Theater in Los Angeles as well as for #140conf: London taking place November 10/11. (Special thanks to Kodak who is the title sponsor of both events.)

Once again I plan to look at twitter as a platform and look at the effects of twitter on: Celebrity, �The Media�, Advertising and Politics as well as other topics based on the proposals received.

I believe we are now living in �The State of NOW� (see: http://pulverblog.pulver.com/archives/008950.html ) and that the advent of the NOW Internet has ushered in a new era of the net whose effects will be felt for some time to come. #140conf is not a twitter conference where we will be intentionally sharing twitter �tips and techniques� but rather an event which will be exploring the effects of the NOW Internet on the future of various industries around the world. It just happens I believe twitter is the language of the NOW Internet and I look at the people who are using twitter as a fundamental part of their business as pioneers in this new space.

If you know someone whose approach to business has been affected by twitter, I would appreciate it if you could nominate them to be a character at one or both of my upcoming events. (You can also feel free to nominate yourself.) If you have an idea/suggestion for a panel, please feel free to suggest the speakers. Please feel free to email: jeff @ pulver.com.

I plan on keeping the format of the event fast past with the majority of the individual speaking spots limited to 10 minutes and the panels to be no more than 20 minutes.

The deadline for this �Call for Characters� is July 24th but, if possible, I would appreciate receiving your feedback before the deadline.

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Tags: 140conf, social media, 140 Characters Conference, twitter, Jeff Keni Pulver

Jay ThePal Documentary of #140conf

jeff — 2009-07-09T23:41:10-05:00

Jay ThePal was part of the �Cast of Characters� at the 140 Characters Conferences that took place last month in New York City.

The following is Jay�s documentary of the time he spent at #140conf:

�Jay ThePal (me) goes to the 140 Character(s) Conference in New York City! Follow his (my) adventures as he meets people, sees people talk and makes new pals!! YEAH! He met up with all sorts of people, from founders of companies to a politician to Internet strategists and a LOT of really cool people from the Twitter! Check it out!

OH YEAH: Watch this docu and listen for cuttings from my new theme song--It's done by Skitzofrenic check out more music here: http://www.myspace.com/skitzonuts BUT WATCH THE DOCU FIRST, MAN!!

Thanks to everyone who spoke to us! Please @reply us on Twitter @ThePal or @JayThePal or @KayThePal if you met us and we haven't followed you back, yet! Connect! It's what the Internet is all about, man! YEAH!! �

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Tags: 140conf, social media, 140 Characters Conference, twitter,
Jay ThePal, Jeff Keni Pulver

Event: �Conversation with Jeff Pulver� - July 14th in Washington DC

jeff — 2009-07-09T09:03:33-05:00

Readers of my blog are invited to join me for a "Brown Bag Lunch" in the offices of Mintz Levin in Washington, D.C. for "Conversation with Jeff Pulver" hosted by Howard Symons

The event will run from 12:00 PM to 1:30 PM and will follow-up on conversations started in NYC at the HD Communications Summit in May and last month�s 140 Characters Conference.

I am looking forward to the interactive discussion which will follow.

To confirm access to the event, please also register over at: http://amiando.com/dclunch.html. You can also join this event on Facebook.

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Tags: breakfast, Personal Social Media Toolkit, voip, FCC, public policy, Washington, D.C., social media, facebook, Social Media Breakfast, Jeff Keni Pulver

Invitation to Events in Washington DC on July 14, 2009:

jeff — 2009-07-08T06:19:27-05:00

Please join me in Washington, DC on Tuesday, July 14, 2009.

My day starts off at the Old Ebbitts Grill for the next Washington DC "Breakfast with Jeff Pulver (and friends).�

Following breakfast, friends are invited to attend a brown bag lunch "Conversation with Jeff Pulver" at Mintz Levin hosted by Howard Symons at noon arose to follow-up on conversations started in NYC at the HD Communications Summit in May and the 140 Characters Conference.

The awareness of high definition voice in Washington, DC is near zero even as HD voice quality improvements could prove transformative for every aspect of government from international diplomacy to military communication and homeland security. The awareness of Twitter in contrast is high, but there still exists a need to connect the dots on how Twitter sets in motion the transformation to the NOW Internet.

The trip marks a re-engagement with the policy community in Washington, DC. People following me over the years will remember the founding of the VON Coalition and intensive efforts leading up to the so called �Pulver Order� in 2004. This trip will include announcements of similarly ambitious plans, and I look forward to a full day of meetings reconnecting with friends in DC. Feel free to email me (jeff @ pulver.com ) to suggest people, government departments, or organizations you think I should visit.

Please RSVP for either the breakfast at Ebbitts Grill and/or the brown bag lunch at Mintz Levin.

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Tags: breakfast, Personal Social Media Toolkit, voip, FCC, public policy, Washington, D.C., social media, facebook, Social Media Breakfast, Jeff Keni Pulver

Event: Breakfast with Jeff Pulver (and friends) in Washington DC on Jul 14th

jeff — 2009-07-07T07:58:57-05:00

On Tuesday July 14th I will be in Washington, D.C. and hosting my 2nd "Breakfast with Jeff Pulver (and friends)" event this year in DC from 8-10 AM.

To RSVP, please visit this event on Facebook.

Everyone attending this breakfast will receive a "Personal Social Networking Toolkit." Friends can learn more about my �Personal Social Networking Toolkit� by watching the video below:

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Tags: breakfast, Personal Social Media Toolkit, Washington, D.C., social media, facebook, Social Media Breakfast, Jeff Pulver