Getting there

What I want from Google Apps

2009-10-06T10:29:00.000-07:00

I personally rely on Google products quite a bit: apps, reader, gmail, etc. At work, it is even more with office apps, calendars, etc. I love my Android, with all of its shortcomings, because of the seamless integration into the Google Suite. I really want Google to continue the path of integrating all of its products into the Google Apps Suite.

Google Voice integration would be killer! Beyond just making it available, I would love to be able to purchase a "block" of numbers so that it can be consecutive. In addition, we would love to have additional numbers available with group management for customer service and sales lines, with multiple people being able to manage their accounts. This would create a PBX in the sky and group access to voicemails, etc.

Google Reader in Google Apps would assist in our sharing of stories, etc. There are a couple of specific areas that would assist:

"Shared" reading list where everyone could have a group of subscriptions that are centrally managed. Would encourage reading materials that we believe should be read consistently. Would be even better if they could be broken down by employee type - engineers, sales, marketing, etc.
Ability to share within the company - a protected list. Only our domain users could read the comments and share stories.
Ability to post directly to our internal dashboards, etc - again, only accessible to our domain users.

Contacts that we can share. I would like to be able to categorize/tag contacts that everyone has access to in the company. Customers, partners, leads, etc. While we have Salesforce and Zendesk, the ability to have a single list that is shared and accessed directly through my phone, mail interface, etc, is a huge time saver. When time is of the essence, having to search my contacts, then Zendesk then Salesforce is really a waste of time and energy. Give me an api and the ability to share with users in my domain - would make it so much better.

This functionality would greatly assist us and provide us with better tools for sharing information, interacting with our customers and growing our business.

BYOBW v. 2009

2009-04-15T10:11:00.000-07:00

So the annual Bring Your Own Big Wheel race was a smashing success, yet again. Man it is fun...

I seemed to have made some coverage! Late in this clip on Countdown with Keith Olberman, I come screaming down the hill in my bunny suit:

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

I was also on the local KTVU news, but they do not seem to have the clip online...

Your vote really counts

2008-10-17T11:51:00.000-07:00

This is a case where your vote really - REALLY - counts. TODAY!

Our friends from Sauce and Shine have an entry in the Red Bull Soap Box Derby race. And they can truly use your vote.

http://www.redbullsoapboxusa.com/SanFrancisco-2008/teams-TeamShineTheBigOne.aspx

One of the categories is “Crowd Favorite” to be decided by Text Voting (Just like American Idol). So please vote for them right now by texting: TEAM15 to 72855

You can see pictures, a video and more at the Shine website.

Voting is today and tomorrow morning only, so do it now!! Right now!

OH - you can vote up to 10 times! Go VOTE 10 times. Right now.

What makes me blog now?

2008-05-03T00:15:00.000-07:00

So I haven't blogged in a really, really long time. An extremely long time. In fact, it was February 1st and I was blogging about Google Reader. However, I have something I really want to share.

Now, I have a shitload going on in my life. Castfire is really taking off and our customers, integrations and product stun me every day. That is worth blogging about. I am getting married - HOLY SHIT! - next Saturday to the most amazing woman in the world. I should be sharing that. Some of my friends are exceeding their dreams and I should be blogging about that.

However, it to Scott Beale's post, from Laughing Squid (as well as Laughing Squid Hosting, which I proudly support with 2 different accounts), that has made me blog tonight. Yet again, his great highlighting of that which is challenging, artistic, underground, or counter culture has touched me.

Google Me is a great documentary about a guy who wanted to connect with each of the people that shares his name, and he discovered, by Googling his name. The twist and turns, discovery and comprehension, and contrasts are wonderful. I am impressed by Jim and even more by his support team for their ability to overcome trust issues, create an environment for sharing, and to bring everyone together to celebrate the discovery.

I blog tonight because I am touched by the chances he took and the outreach he made. I have often Googled my name, but never followed through into exploring who the other "Brian Walsh" humans are. Wow. What if? Could I? What if I? Should I?

Thanks to Scott for sharing that. Thanks to Google for making an hour + documentary available to everyone for free. Thanks to Jim Killeem(s) for taking the chance.

Here's what I really want in Google Reader

2008-02-01T19:06:00.000-08:00

I am a voracious reader of posts, thanks to Google Reader. I can move quickly, and mark quite a few with 's' and 'shift'-'s'. Works great, as I can save for myself and share with others (which get pushed to the side bar of my blog and my Facebook account). Cool!

What do I want? To be able to customize a keyboard shortcut to share with just a group of people. Use case? I would love to hit 'shift'-'c' to share with just the team at Castfire - who also use Google Reader. Would be a great, quick way for us to share what we read and are thinking, directly inside of Reader. Right now, I need to copy the link and email.

I would also love the ability to post directly from Reader. Highlight a portion of the post, hit blog this, and a blockquote + link to article, pop up in a modal window for me to blog. I can say that this would increase my blogging a TON!

Perhaps these features are already available and I am just a bit slow? Someone make me happy!!!

Let Me Go

2008-01-16T20:37:00.000-08:00

Wow....base jumper, Jim Corliss, gets caught before he can leap from the Empire State Building....

Honey

2008-01-10T09:09:00.001-08:00

Honey
Originally uploaded by thepartycow.

The mass in Honey's colon became too much and it was really difficult for her. So the vet came over to our house last night to put her to sleep. That was one of the toughest things I have ever been through. I am wiping tears as I type this.

RIP Honey, RIP. You were an incredible friend. I miss you terribly.

Molly and Honey

2007-12-14T00:53:00.001-08:00

Molly and Honey
Originally uploaded by thepartycow.

Honey is our 14 year old dog that brings us together closer and closer every day. From an ultrasound a mass was discovered in her colon - this mass challenges all three of us on a daily basis. It is being treated with very strong medication, however, the impact is not lost on any of us. Honey brings us together on a daily basis and is a reminder of the love we are capable of.

We are going through a very hard time right now.

Thanks for your well wishes.

Uh oh...it's on again

2007-12-11T19:21:00.001-08:00

Uh oh...it's on again
Originally uploaded by JasonUnbound.

Favorite, favorite, favorite party of the year. Don't get much better than this one, folks.

No place like NY

2007-12-03T23:46:00.001-08:00

What a funny, funny story
Originally uploaded by thepartycow.

So a little bit back, Molly and I were in NYC for her sister's wedding in Brooklyn. We had a great weekend connecting with her family and FINALLY seeing NYC together. It still holds a special place in my heart and I miss it quite a bit!

We stayed an additional 2 days for work in Manhattan. We moved from staying with friends in the Village to the Dylan Hotel in midtown. Actually a pretty nice place -- I will definitely stay there again.

On late, late Monday night I was still working away in my hotel room while Molly was out having dinner with our friends. I was quite pushed for deadlines and definitely a bit stressed (and jealous to not be out with her!) My weary eyes signaled a need to walk around the block and grab some caffeine.

With my head down and a bit focused on the proposal I was working on, I stumbled into the elevator excited for fresh air. 2 floors down, the door opens and a woman strolls in on her phone. As she stood there talking, I couldn't tell what was sticking out of her bra/cleavage. What is that? Corners? Edges?

Oh...hello, wad o'cash. That is a pretty massive stack of bills in her bra! I did my best to hold back laughing and stare at the buttons in the elevator. Amazing how interesting the buttons in an elevator can be.

I am startled by a flash of neon green - crumpled, Kinko's green - you know the type that goes on sale for copying? I look down to see her card: Professional Masseuse - "Your Pleasure."

Let's see...are the buttons round or square? What was the top floor? Weird, they don't have a separate banquet floor.

As we approach the ground floor, her conversation turns:
c'mon...let's meet up
where are you staying? I want to meet you.
let me come over right now.

OH. OH. Really?

YES SIR. Absolutely sir. MMMMMmmmm. Yes sir. Of course, sir.

On my way sir.

I burst into laughter and headed back upstairs to my room. Before I sat back down to my computer, I left Jessica's card on my fiancee's pillow and repeated, "there's no place like New York."

Marc Andreessen: I can't take it...

2007-11-20T22:05:00.001-08:00

I try to keep politics out of this blog -- and then Republican presidential candidate, Arkansas governor, and apparent moron Mike Huckabee actually runs this as his first campaign commercial.

blog.pmarca.com: I can't take it... I just can't take it...

Honestly, I thought he may be overstating his feelings regarding Mike Huckabee's video. C'mon...how bad can it be?

I am not sure if he is auditioning for Saturday Night Live or running for President. What has politics in America come to?

City Bag Trade

2007-11-02T16:44:00.001-07:00

Through Molly, I got to know Kendra and was quite blown away by the passion and energy she has. Then, of course, I was introduced to one of her real passions: re-usable bags.

Yeah, I know. I had the same reaction when I first heard it. Huh? What? Keep on walking silly girl. Keep on walking.

Damn her passion, commitment and persistence; we have re-usable bags in all of our cars, the house, etc. And it is a great thing! They really are better than those plastic bags that you get at the grocery store.

Well, for everything but picking up dog crap.

Anyway, Kendra is passionate enough to build out a community around it! City Bag Trade just launched today and even includes a PDF of a the pattern for you to make your own.

I encourage you to go check it out!

Using Disqus Comments

2007-10-30T19:28:00.000-07:00

I am trying out the Disqus comment system. I saw it a while back on Fred Wilson's blog and was intrigued. This morning, dreaming with my product management hat on, I began to wonder if you could leverage the API to extend video comments into embeded players, allowing a single train of comments to follow a video around and have a static place on the web. Interesting idea...going to be experimenting.

I should say, however, that comment management is really a full time job for publishers with a large audience and I am not sure how this would go over well. Interesting concept...wonder if the using key audience members to be moderators, and utilizing Disqus' moderator assignment, would work well together? Hmmm....

May be time to give them a ring to discuss...

Oh those funny kids @ College Humor

2007-09-21T16:52:00.000-07:00

Oh...those funny, funny kids @ College Humor. If only all videos were this funny...

Comments on @ a Business Meeting

And Part II

Videos from our travels

2007-09-07T16:08:00.000-07:00

Well...I have a much more in depth series of posts regarding trekking through Peru, but am anxious to get some videos and pix up! So...using this great company's technology, I present some video from Peru!

Got engaged!

2007-08-26T12:17:00.001-07:00

Got engaged!
Originally uploaded by thepartycow.

Well, Molly and I made the 4 day trek along the Inca trail to Machu Picchu. It is an incredible journey, with challenges, high passes (13,800 ft), jungles and more. The views are amazing and we learned quite a bit about Inca culture and life.

Upon arriving at Machu Picchu, we snuck off the side of the city facing "Happy Mountain," where I proposed to Molly on one knee. Amazingly, she said yes!

She said yes! She said yes! She said yes!!!

We are continuing our exploration of Peru starting tomorrow as we head down into the jungles of Manu. We have 6 days of trekking, canoes, and zip lines in the tree tops.

Followed by at least 60 years of exploration of lives together...

In Cusco, Peru and loving life

2007-08-21T20:03:00.000-07:00

Molly and I are in Cusco, Peru, doing our final packing prior to our 4:30 AM departure tomorrow morning for the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu. Our flight down was quite wonderful: we were bumped to business class for the flight from SFO to San Salvador and then had emergency row to Lima. Can´t complain...

Exploring Cusco and the Sacred Valley have been wonderful. Molly has had a little trouble adjusting to the altitude, but she is doing great. We climbed through Pisac today, which has higher elavation than MP, and it rawked! Amazing views...

Back in 5 days and will write more...

San Francisco in Ruins

2007-08-16T02:34:00.001-07:00

San Francisco in Ruins
Originally uploaded by Telstar Logistics.

This is an absolutely amazing picture of San Francisco after the earthquake. Stunning! The larger size really shows the details.

Wow, wow, wow...

Earthquake in Peru

2007-08-15T18:28:00.000-07:00

Molly and I are headed to Peru on Friday night for a much needed vacation. Surprise, surprise, there was a 7.7 magnitude earthquake outside of Lima this evening. I was able to find a blog and connected with the writer to get more details. While shaken and scared, the city seems ok -- at least for now.

We were planning on bringing SF to Peru...I guess they are letting us know they are ready!

Syncing with Google Calendar

2007-08-08T15:09:00.000-07:00

I have been frustrated with a variety of calendars in my life: Google calendar, Outlook and my Blackberry. The problem has always been keeping all three in sync. I would dump Outlook, but I need to sync to my phone (and having a desktop calendar is still the fastest way). Google Calendar is great for syncing up with my business partners and I LOVE the sms alerts for meetings. Unfortunately, Gcal doesn't sync with my Blackberry.

I have settled on Campanion Link for Google Calendar and am quite happy. I can set it up to automatically sync every hour or manually (there are more options, but I am looking for the most up to date!) I tried it for the trial period and was very happy with the results.

It costs $24.95, but I am so happy to have this solved, it is worth it. My last step is getting my contacts to sync between Outlook and gmail and then I will be happy.

Well, almost. How come gmail uses the Blackberry protocol and pushes e-mail immediately but Google Apps for Domains does not?!?! It relies on pop, which, in all honesty, sucks because it doesn't sync the same way. Someday nirvana will come true of everything I own being in sync when ever, where ever.

Unbelievable Video

2007-08-08T00:38:00.000-07:00

I just don't even know how to describe all of the levels of this video. This is straight out of Hollywood...I don't even think they would go this far!

Congress Approves Surveillance Measures | The Onion - America's Finest News Source

2007-08-07T11:42:00.000-07:00

Congress Approves Surveillance Measures | The Onion - America's Finest News Source:

Ed Albaugh,
Elevator Repairman
'You won't need to eavesdrop to hear this: I voted for you assholes because you said you were against shit like this.'

Mark Malkoff Takes the Starbucks Challenge .:. Watch the Video!

2007-08-01T17:22:00.000-07:00

There is a new level of video on the internet appearing: professional writers/actors in broadcast branding themselves. The internet is proving to be an inexpensive medium for professionals to reach out and explore new ideas and opportunities without the overhead of traditional broadcast or Hollywood. This is an excellent example by Mark Malkoff, who works on the Colbert Report:

Mark Malkoff Takes the Starbucks Challenge .:. Watch the Video!

Ira Glass on Storytelling

2007-08-01T10:42:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite radio programs and podcasts is This American Life. The quality of the story telling is legendary and it consistently brings belly laughs, tears, thoughts and introspection. Episodes touch everyone differently, but some of my favorites:

A benchpressing snowman. Molly and I reference Ira Glass' "Whhhhaaaaat?" constantly!

Police officers coming to clear a squirrel from an attic. I had to pause it the first time because I was laughing so hard.

Fiasco - the segment on Peter Pan gets better and better. It puts things in perspective.

81 words - a trip through the classification of homosexuality by the APA. A story that twists and turns throughout the course of the episode. The introduction, comparing the pen that signs a bill by a president to the course that it takes to make and pass the bill is outstanding!

O'Reilly Radar posted a wonderful video on Ira speaking about story telling. As so many people are not posting content, video and audio, that try to tell stories, I think it hits home to some very important concepts. Test the story and then throw it away -- bad content is getting in the way of great story telling! This video is a must watch!

Via: Ira Glass on Storytelling

Funny or Die - Auto Phone Sex by ilikestuff

2007-07-19T18:00:00.000-07:00

DO NOT drink milk or coffee while watching this video -- it will end up all over your desk. This is damn, damn funny...

Auto Phone Sex

Funny or Die - Auto Phone Sex by ilikestuff