My Thoughts on Microfinance, Life, Web 2.0, Blogging, and Business

A Gorgeous Beach in Zanzibar

Drew Meyers — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 01:36:28 +0000

I’ve been browsing photos of beaches for the last twenty minutes. Zanzibar looks amazing!!

[via Hofland Expeditions]

Wow, Are You Serious?

Drew Meyers — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:08:15 +0000

How in the heck did this girl not get red carded? Am I missing something?

I would be scared to play soccer against this girl.

I Give the Yankees Props – Congrats

Drew Meyers — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 02:22:06 +0000

Dear Rob, Patrick, and Pierre -

Congrats to your beloved Yankees for winning the 2009 World Series over the Phillies. I’ll admit they were the better team and deserved to win. I can say our Twitter conversations and constant heckling over the past week or so made the series more fun to follow!

BUT…do I still hate the Yankees?

Yes.

Will I still hate the Yankees 10 years from now?

Yes.

To Sue, Stephen, Jim, and all the Phillies (or mainly just ANTI-YANKEES) fans that chimed in – thank you!

Funny picture – “offended”

DrewiPhone — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 08:11:43 +0000

offended, originally uploaded by Aquafilia.

I found this via Stumblupon (Yes I’m bored)

The Importance of the “Catching Up” Phone Calls

Drew Meyers — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 05:29:59 +0000

I think (hope) we all know the importance of keeping in touch with your network of connections. After all, in the business world, it’s all about who you know. My senior year of college, I interned for Tim Reha. At the time, he ran Venture All Stars (no longer up and running). He is easily one of the more connected guys I know — and you know what? There is a reason for it. During my internship, I used to always hear him on the phone saying something to the tune of “just calling to catch up a bit”. I didn’t quite grasp the real importance of this until recently but it’s turned out to be one of the more important lessons he taught me in those 3 months. Building and maintaining relationships with a vast network of people takes time and effort — but the time and effort you put into it pays off in the long run. I can tell you from first hand experience some of the most valuable business intel and opportunities come as a result of just shooting the breeze with people you haven’t spoken with for awhile.

Lesson: if you find yourself with a few free minutes — call someone you haven’t spoken with for awhile and ask them what they’ve been up to (and update them on what you’ve been doing). Better yet, carve out a few hours every week to making these phone calls. I think you’ll be surprised with how valuable those phone calls turn out to be.

Blogging in a Drunken State

Drew Meyers — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 05:49:56 +0000

I think it’s pretty funny that this blog post has the following caveat at the beginning of the post:

Before I write this, let me admit it’s almost 3am and I’m very drunk. It’s Halloween, I look like a zombie, and I’ve been talking about United all evening.

This is Why Fred Wilson is my Favorite Blogger…

Drew Meyers — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 05:02:16 +0000

…because he does things like this.

Star Treatment in the NBA

Drew Meyers — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 22:57:51 +0000

Here’s an excerpt from Blowing the Whistle, by Tim Donaghy regarding star treatment that makes me cringe:

Relationships between NBA players and referees were generally all over the board — love, hate, and everything in-between. Some players, even very good ones, were targeted by referees and the league because they were too talented for their own good. Raja Bell, formerly of the Phoenix Suns and now a member of the Charlotte Bobcats, was one of those players. A defensive specialist throughout his career, Bell had a reputation for being a “star stopper.” His defensive skills were so razor sharp that he could shut down a superstar, or at least make him work for his points. Kobe Bryant was often frustrated by Bell’s tenacity on defense. Let’s face it, no one completely shuts down a player of Kobe’s caliber, but Bell could frustrate Kobe, take him out of his game, and interrupt his rhythm.

You would think that the NBA would love a guy who plays such great defense. Think again! Star stoppers hurt the promotion of marquee players. Fans don’t pay high prices to see players like Raja Bell — they pay to see superstars like Kobe Bryant score 40 points. Basketball purists like to see good defense, but the NBA wants the big names to score big points.

If a player of Kobe’s stature collides with the likes of Raja Bell, the call will almost always go for Kobe and against Bell. As part of our ongoing training and game preparation, NBA referees regularly receive game-action video tape from the league office. Over the years, I have reviewed many recorded hours of video involving Raja Bell. The footage I analyzed usually illustrated fouls being called against Bell, rarely for him. The message was subtle but clear — call fouls against the star stopper because he’s hurting the game.

Wow, what a joke. This is a big reason why the NBA has gone downhill since the 90’s when the game was about more than just money. Penalizing the likes of Raja Bell and Bruce Bowen for being fantastic defenders is pathetic.

Twilight: New Moon Music Video Spoof

Drew Meyers — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 17:56:32 +0000

Here is a Twilight New Moon music video spoof done by my old colleague Beau Lewis at Seedwell, so I thought I’d share it here. I watched it and it was entertaining, though I probably don’t totally “get it” because, I’ll be honest, I really have no clue what “Twilight” is.

Beau was also behind the Mac vs PC rap video.

All the McDonald’s in the United States

Drew Meyers — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 16:19:01 +0000

A heatmap of McDonald’s and ,wow, that’s sure is a lot of McDonald’s. I must say, all the fast food this country eats is truly pathetic.

Side note: my college buddy suggested that AT&T should partner with McDonald’s and set up 3g towers on all their stores, and I agree with him — it’s the only way for them to catch up w/ Verizon.

[via BusinessPundit]

The Biggest Risk is Taking No Risk at All

Drew Meyers — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 06:03:06 +0000

Quote from Mark Zuckerberg [via VentureBeat] :

The biggest risk you can take it is to take no risk. In a world that’s moving quickly, you know that if you don’t change you’ll lose. Not taking risk is the riskiest thing you can do. You have to do things that are kind of bold even if they’re not obvious.

I 100% agree that taking risks is important in both business, and life — you’re not likely to accomplish much of anything if you don’t.

Vittana – Bringing Student Loans to the Developing World

Drew Meyers — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 05:55:06 +0000

I’m a big fan of what Kushal (who I’ve met several times in person) and his team are doing over at Vittana to bring the concept of student loans to the developing world. Here’s a video that gives more background on what their model is.

Sweetest Wedding Ever

Drew Meyers — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 08:29:42 +0000

Back from Europe

Drew Meyers — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 16:13:33 +0000

On Monday, I made it back safe and sound from my 2 1/2 week backpacking trip to Europe. I literally have not had any free time this week due to trying to catch up on 2 1/2 weeks of e-mail and work items and helping with the Causeitsmybirthday – Seattle fundraiser that took place at Copper Cart in Belltown on Wednesday evening. It’s been a long week and I’m glad it’s finally the weekend.

My favorite city I visited was probably Prague, though I had the most fun in Munich due to the real Oktoberfest. Truly, Oktoberfest is like nothing I’ve seen before, thousands and thousands of people dressed in Lederhosen, standing on tables, singing German songs, drinkings steins (and steins and steins) of great beer, and socializing. Here are a few photos from the trip:

Me at the Heineken Museum in Amsterdam

One of the beer tents at Oktoberfest in Munich

Me in Prague

Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna

It’s good to be back in the states, but I definitely could have handled a few more weeks — or months — traveling through Europe. I’m thinking my next trip will be a cruise in the Caribbean, but South America and Australia are definitely high on my wish list of places to visit. For the backpackers reading this, where would you suggest going?

Items in the Raffle Tonight at Copper Cart to Help Fight Malaria

Drew Meyers — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 21:12:47 +0000

For those of you who don’t know (why haven’t you read my last blog post?), there’s a fundraiser tonight at Copper Cart in Belltown — Causeitsmybirthday – Seattle. There is going to be a raffle taking place at this event — everyone who donates at least $15 gets one raffle ticket, and people can purchase additional tickets for $1. Below are the items that will be raffled off:

Commemorative Plaque of Seattle Supersonics Retired Jerseys

Other items:

Portable Music System for iPod
DVD player
Sue Bird 8×10 autographed photo with a Storm t-shirt & hat – courtesy of Seattle Storm
Lauren Jackson 8×10 autographed photo with a Storm t-shirt & hat – courtesy of Seattle Storm
Two Tickets to Star Wars in Concert at Key Arena on October 13th
Two Tickets to Your Choice of a Seattle Mariners Game
Robe from LaCoste
Wenger tri-fold hanging kit – 6
Wenger hand crafted leather billfold – 16
Wenger tri fold wallets – 5

I also want to thank Jordan Woodworth from New Mode Productions — he’ll be photographing the event tonight and will post photos afterward!

Hope to see everyone there!