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St. Pattys 2012 with Faded Industry!

Bob Buskirk — Sun, 25 Mar 2012 05:19:54 +0000

I don’t know about you, but in Pittsburgh St. Patty’s day is a party day for sure! Even if you are not Irish. There are 3 main party spots for St. Patty’s day in Pittsburgh. You have Market Square downtown, Station Square and South Side. Usually you can only make it to one of those spots during the day. Well this year Faded Industry made it so you could experience all 3 spots in one day.

They rented a school bus that took us all around the city. We started in Station Square, I got down there around 9:30AM and met up with everyone. That is when the drinking started. From there we all piled on the school bus and headed up to Mount Washington where we got out and took a group photo on the lookout. Yes everyone in the photo was on the bus!

From there we headed towards downtown. Did I mention our school bus had a keg on it, a case of vodka and about 500 jello shots! It made for a very interesting ride, throwing jello shots out the window at people, filling squirt guns up with vodka and spraying people and just having a great time. We made it downtown and were able to spend about 2 hours there. Luckily we were able to catch part of the parade downtown. Downtown was packed with a ton of people.

After spending a couple hours downtown we got back on the bus and headed to South Side. It was packed as expected. We spent most of our time at S Bar and our course we ran into so many people we knew. Another couple of hours went by and we made it back on the bus for our final trip back to Station Square. By that time it was the late afternoon and most of us were beat! It was a great event put on by Faded Industry and made it possible for us to experience all of the great St. Patty’s day party spots all in one day. I really hope they have the event again next year.

Wiz Khalifa drops Taylor Allderdice

Bob Buskirk — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 17:55:43 +0000

In the rap and hip hop world mixtapes are extremely popular. They are normally free and allow artists to put out music on a constant basis without having to worry about labels or record deals. Many artists get discovered because of mixtapes and some of my favorite songs are actually from mixtapes.

You know five years ago I would have never have thought there would be a major artist from Pittsburgh, but over the past few years Wiz Khalifa has come up and really become a major name in the rap and hip hop world. Being a fan of hip hop I’ve watched his rise and it is crazy to see someone from my own city on MTV and touring all over the world. Now we are watching Mac Miller do the same thing.

Two years ago yesterday Wiz released his 8th official mixtape Kush and Orange Juice. After released it became the #1 trending topic on twitter and #1 hot search term on Google. This is what really started his big rise to the top. Now just 2 days ago Wiz Khalifa dropped Taylor Allderdice, which of course pays homage to the high school that he went to and probably his most anticipated mixtape ever. Already the mixtape page on datpiff has over 2 million views and over 500,000 downloads.

This shows you the power of the internet and what you can do yourself, Mac Miller is doing the same thing. Releasing these free mixtapes both Wiz and Mac Miller are getting their music out there to the fans and setting them up for their actual albums. They are both perfect examples of how to use the internet, social media and smart marketing to take themselves to the next level. Great to see Wiz keep on making hits and still releasing mixtapes for fans. So how is the mixtape? Check it out below…

Download Mixtape | Free Mixtapes Powered by DatPiff.com

Why You and Your Brand Needs to be on Google+

Bob Buskirk — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 20:02:00 +0000

Google+ keeps on growing and growing, but many people and brands still have not decided to move over. Well now with Google’s Search, plus Your World feature and other things they are doing to promote Google+ you and your brand better be on Google+. Actually before I continue why don’t you head on over to Google+ and create a profile!

Moving on, you may have noticed a few months ago that when you started searching on Google you would get personal results or results that your friends may have shared, gave a +1 to or talked about. Also photos, videos from YouTube and content on Google+ shows right up in your search results. Personal search results are turned on by default as long as you are logged into Google when searching. These personal results are mixed with other normal results you would see from Google. So the more you +1 content and share things on Google+ the more likely it is to show up in your friends search results. Check out the video below to see what the Search, plus Your World features is all about.

If that is not enough to get you to create a Google+ profile there is more. Google+ profiles are being directly promoted within the Google search box. If I go to type in Colin 2 of my friends come up showing information from their Google+ profile. Not only that their Google+ profile shows up in the search results showing some of their latest posts.

Finally type a known brand into Google, let’s say Ford. Scroll down and to the right you will see a People and Pages section with Ford’s Google+ profile and Google+ profiles of people who are working at Ford. You can see how Google is promoting Google+ profiles and brand pages here.

So if you or your brand is not on Google+ stop what you are doing and create a profile. I am already finding more interesting information on Google+ than anywhere else.

Awesome Weekend at FITES LANFest 2012!

Bob Buskirk — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 02:34:22 +0000

It has been quite a while since I’ve been to another LAN Party besides Pittco. I always go to Pittco because ThinkComputers sponsors it and it is in Pittsburgh. My good friend Nik told me about FITES and suggested I signup as a sponsor, so I did and this past weekend I headed to Mechanicsburg, PA to check it out. It was about a 3 hour drive, which was not that bad at all since most of it was on the turnpike. The event was held at the Park Inn, which is actually a very large hotel, with quite a few buildings.

As soon as I got there the FITES staff was very friendly and helped me get setup. I brought 3 system for the ThinkComputers booth. This was also the first event that I was able to use the new ThinkComputers banner I had just got made. Check out the picture of our booth from the event below.

The event was great and it was the perfect place to spread the word about ThinkComputers. I met some really cool people and actually did some gaming. They had a 32 person Battlefield 3 server going and we had a great Team Fortress 2 match going on for a while. Also one of the coolest things was an arcade machine that someone made that had 4 joysticks and had pretty much every popular arcade game ever made! There were some awesome mods there as well. You can check out ThinkComputers full coverage of the event here. I will definitely be back next year!

Why is it Important to Attend Industry Events

Bob Buskirk — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 21:26:53 +0000

Each year when I attend CES I am always reminded of how important it is to attend industry events. Even if there was nothing to cover at CES it is still very important to attend for many reasons, which I have listed below.

Showing Face
Most of the communication I do with companies I work with is via e-mail. So attending CES I get to see them in person and really talk to them about what we have going on. It gives you a more personal connection with the person or company you are dealing with.

Networking
Being at an event like CES brings out everyone who works in and covers technology. This means it is the perfect place to make new friends, business contacts and more. You can get so much networking done at the press events and parties at CES. Even if its the little things like meeting a site owner and now they will post your news on their site. It can even be bigger things like meeting a CEO of a company at an industry party and now you are doing business with them.

Motivation
After coming back from an event like CES I am always charged up and really motivated to work. I think that actually getting out from behind the screen and doing “real work” gives me this extra kick. It is a great feeling and something that should not be taken for granted!

Friends
Over the years I have become friends with many people in the industry and CES is like one big reunion for all of us. Most of us usually only get to see each other once a year. So attending CES is a great time to not only hang out with old friends, but meet new ones.

Finding More Interesting Content on Google+

Bob Buskirk — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 07:12:44 +0000

I’ve always liked being able to find interesting and intelligent information and conversations online. I think it all started with people posting links on IRC and on forums. From there it went on to social networks. Of course MySpace was first, but when that was overrun with garbage and profiles that gave me a siezure so I moved over to Facebook. This was when you still needed a .edu E-mail address to register for the site.

On Facebook I was delighted to find interesting posts and great conversations, things that I actually wanted to know about and discuss. Then along came Twitter, it seemed like this was the new thing. People were posting as things were happening and it felt like you were really there. Not only that so many interesting people were joining twitter.

Over the past year or so both of those social networks have blown up and it seems everyone has either a Facebook or twitter account. Your friends and people you meet out add you and you accept them because you have met them etc. So now your news feed and twitter stream is filled with garbage and things that do not really matter to you. I mean you can block posts from a specific user on Facebook or create user lists on twitter, but who wants to do that really. Even if you do that Facebook’s Edgerank determines what posts actually show up in your news feed anyways.

I remember Facebook being an awesome place to find great content, now it is just full of garbage. I have turned to Google+ to find actual good and intelligent conversations. It seems everyone in tech is on Google+ and they use it to create great conversations and share really awesome content. Some people you should definitely be following are Robert Scoble, Mike Elgan, and Guy Kawasaki.

Another great thing about Google+ is when you “add” or start following someone you can add them into a circle. Then you can filter your stream by circle, this would be really helpful on Facebook, although most of the people who I followed on Facebook who had interesting things to say are now on Google+. Twitter is limited to only 140 characters, Facebook is 63,206 and Google+ is 100,000. So since you are able to write more you are able to have really in-depth conversations.

If you feel like Twitter or Facebook is lacking great content and you are tired of seeing people talk about meaningless things give Google+ a chance. You can search for great circles and people to follow.

Super Bowl Commercials 2012

Bob Buskirk — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 15:00:37 +0000

Well I’m sure most of you tuned in yesterday to watch the Super Bowl. Congrats to the New York Giants for winning, it was actually a decent game this year. Since the Steelers were not in the Super Bowl I really was not that interested in the game, but as always I was interested in the commercials. I can’t even imagine what they are charging for ad spots during the super bowl these days, but I assume it is A LOT! Companies always try to create great commercials for the Super Bowl ad spot, what better way to get people to use your service or buy your product, especially with that many people watching.

Before I get into my favorite Super Bowl commercials of 2012, let me talk about some of the ones that did not make the list. While I was not impressed with the GoDaddy Body Paint commercial, it was the only ad that was really meant to drive traffic to their website, this has been a theme of GoDaddy for quite a few years now. GoDaddy’s second commercial had a QR code on it, do you really think I am going to walk up to my TV and scan that thing GoDaddy? C’mon! The Bud Light Platinum commercial was alright, but I did like that they used the hashtag #MAKEITPLATINUM. As someone said on Twitter hashtags are the new AOL Keywords.

I think my favorite commercial was one that was not even shown to US audiences. It was shown to Canada only. It was the Budweiser Flash Fans commercial. I would have much rather have seen this commercial than the other Budweiser commercials that were shown in the US!

The next ad that really caught my eye was the Best Buy Mobile Phone Game Changer commercial. This commercial was awesome because it showed the creators of many of my favorite iPhone and Android apps. Great way to get the attention of us geeks out there!

I think the only commercial that made me laugh this year was the M&M’s It’s that kind of party commercial. I’ll let you see why below.

I’m sure you can guess why I like the next commercial…Adriana Lima! But this commercial does a great job of keeping the male audience’s attention then promotes Teleflora, which is most cases guys will be sending girls flowers on Valentines Day, genius!

All of the movie trailers were awesome, except for the Disney one of course. The reason I did not include them on this list is because I have seen the trailers for all of these movies months ago. Also we did not see any commercials from Intel or Google, I always look forward to those. Anyways I hope you enjoyed my list of favorite Super Bowl Commercials of 2012. What were your favorites this year?

The CES 2012 Parties

Bob Buskirk — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 22:51:58 +0000

One of the best things about CES is the parties that companies throw. Las Vegas has some of the craziest and most over the top hotel rooms and suites. Many companies rent these suites out for private parties. This year there were 3 parties that were pretty memorable this year.

The first party was the “Night Before CES” party that has been going on for quite sometime. This party is put on by FutureLooks.com and Redux. This is one of the best parties not only because it is at the Palms Place Penthouse, which has one of the best views of Vegas, but this is the party where most site owners show up so it is one big party for all of us.

Photo my buddy Shawn took of me on the balcony, notice the awesome view of Vegas!

The next party was put on by Zotac, NZXT, iBUYPOWER and ADATA. This party was held at the Palms 2-Story Sky Villa.

This is one cool suite. Not only is it 2 stories it has a pretty large pool on the balcony! This also makes for a great view of Vegas as well. Did I mention this suite has beds that are shaped like circles and they have a remote to make them rotate!

The last party was at the Hardwood Suite at the Palms and was put on by Patriot, MSI and Intel.

The Hardwood Suite as you can guess from the photo above is a basketball themed suite. It has a basketball court inside the suite itself! This was the first time I’ve been in this suite and it is probably the craziest suite that I have been in, in Las Vegas. It definitely made the party different than the normal CES party.

The CES 2012 Swag Haul!

Bob Buskirk — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 15:00:30 +0000

One of the best things about going to CES is getting swag, free stuff companies give out as they lure you to come check out their booth. I mean what better way for companies to get your attention then with free stuff! Also rumor has it that on the last day of the show if you stick around long enough many companies will just give away stuff so they don’t have to pack it up and take it back with them. Anyways here is what I was able to snag this year at CES.

Some of the more noteworthy things are a tablet, Thermaltake headset, Corsair solid state drive, and a Kingston Wi-Drive. My favorite thing would have to be the backpack from Rosewill (the black one on the right). It is actually a really nice backpack, much better than the one CES gives press. It is more or less a camera bag with a bunch of protective compartments in it. I used it on my way back from Vegas as my carry-on and I plan to use it in the future, so thanks Rosewill!

Stay tuned for a contest on ThinkComputers where I will be giving a lot of this stuff away!

What a Vegas Trip!

Bob Buskirk — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 09:26:09 +0000

Well as I said I was heading to Vegas for CES and I have just got back. All I have to say is what a trip! This trip seemed different than all other trips to CES. I am really not sure what it was, but it was a good feeling for sure. This year was definitely more relaxed, less stressful and just a lot of fun! So why was this year so different from others?

First we stayed at a condo this year, not a hotel room. The place we stayed at was called The Jockey Club and it was right in the middle of the strip. Having a 2 bedroom 2 bathroom condo was much more comfortable than having everyone in a single hotel room. The condo also had a full kitchen, which definitely was a plus. Having the extra room of a condo made it possible for CyberPower to provide us with a desktop system to do video editing on. This not only saved us time, but make working much, much easier.

Second, the ThinkComputers coverage was all video this year. This meant we did not have to write as much. Coming home after a long day on the show floor, press events and industry parties the last thing you want to do is sit down for 2-3 hours and write articles. Having video meant that we really only needed to write intros for the articles. This definitely elevated a lot of stress. To give you an idea of the videos we shot check out my interview with Bill Owen of MNPCTECH!

Third, things were much more relaxed. It seemed in the past I really got stressed out over things at CES, but this year things were just chill, even down to our “dress code”. I decided this year that myself and staff could wear jeans and a simple dress shirt or something similar, most importantly everyone could wear sneakers instead of dress shoes. Besides just our dress code I scheduled most of my meetings so I was not running all over the place.

Finally I have gone to CES so many times I knew exactly what I needed to do and what I needed to get done. I don’t think there was one time during the week where I was super stressed or pissed off. Another great thing was my staff, not only are these guys great at what they do they are great friends and who better to spend a week in Vegas with! Stay tuned for many different posts about the trip. You can also check out all the coverage over on ThinkComputers!