Things random...

Calling all electric vehicle owners

noreply@blogger.com (Amit Shetty) — Fri, 10 Apr 2015 19:27:00 +0000

If you own an electric (or hybrid electric) vehicle - or work at a company that provides charging stations to its employees, I need your help!
I am working on something in that space and would love to get your input and feedback.

Hope to hear from you soon! Email me at amitshetty.y at gmail - or contact me via linkedin/text/facebook etc... We have people manning all communications channels and are waiting to hear from you! :)

Otherwise, please fill out this survey for me - http://bit.ly/1DsWGSA

Thank you!

Tools to record screencap videos on mobile devices

noreply@blogger.com (Amit Shetty) — Mon, 25 Aug 2014 18:21:00 +0000

Android - (Kitkat+) https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.slimdroid.screenrecoder

iOS - Reflector http://www.airsquirrels.com/reflector/ (they are starting to support android, but do not support recording just yet)

Running to fight cancer

noreply@blogger.com (Amit Shetty) — Mon, 15 Oct 2012 17:06:00 +0000

I am running to fight cancer! Join me - run with me or donate! :-)

http://bit.ly/P4y6gB
or
http://pages.teamintraining.org/sj/nikesf12/ashettyzo0 if the link above doesn't work.

Company Cultures : Where does your company belong?

noreply@blogger.com (Amit Shetty) — Fri, 27 Jul 2012 22:00:00 +0000

Ref : http://agilitrix.com/2011/03/how-to-make-your-culture-work/

Hint : It doesn't really matter (for the most part) where your company is. You need to be aware of it, identify the strengths and drawbacks of each culture, and take steps to work within those constraints/strengthts.

Things to do in San Diego

noreply@blogger.com (Amit Shetty) — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 21:13:00 +0000

We like it when friends make recommendations - find them more useful than any guides.
Thanks Wendy!

you HAVE to go to Extraordinary Desserts.

http://www.extraordinarydesserts.com/locations.htm - the Little Italy location.

There is no better dessert place in the USA than that. Also great for afternoon snack and coffee/tea/hot cocoa.

Try to stay in La Jolla. It's pretty central and you can walk around in La Jolla Village, La Jolla Shores and it's beautiful if the weather isn't rainy. A bit more expensive since it's nominated as the most beautiful beach in the continental USA.

Yelp is good for restaurant recommendations - lots of new places have opened and I try new ones every time I go back to see my family.

To visit, good for kids:

- World Famous SD Zoo

- Wild Animal Park is also great, take the tram ride and it's kind of like a safari

- Legoland

- Carlsbad Outlet Mall (more high end) or San Ysidro Outlet Mall (near the border, regular brands) - GREAT shopping of brand names for cheap

- Balboa Park - must walk around to see the history/culture

- La Jolla Shores beach walk

- go to Coronado to see Hotel del Coronado and the beaches around there

That's a good start :)

Advice for entrepreneurs building web apps

noreply@blogger.com (Amit Shetty) — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 20:35:00 +0000

Fred Wilson's Principles... Great advice! Especially #4
Source : http://bit.ly/qEuRvd

Speed is not only a feature -- it’s a requirement.
The application has to be useful instantaneously. Even if you are building a service which requires days of use before getting to the heart of its features, give the user something right away.
The service must have a personality, with a unique style.
Do one little thing very well. Less is more, specially at the beginning.
The service should have APIs so that others can add more value to your service.
Make your application personal -- allow users to personalize the service to themselves.
Make the URLs self explanatory so that they can be more easily discoverable.
Similarly to 7, make your service as discoverable as possible, both for SEO and social media.
Your application should be clean, and get users started fast.
Being playful is extremely important. If possible, make your application a game.

Asian?

noreply@blogger.com (Amit Shetty) — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 01:52:00 +0000

Quote from Christopher - Filed for possible application: "What???? You got a B??? You're not a Bsian!!! You're an Asian. What is the matter with you???"

test

noreply@blogger.com (Amit Shetty) — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 08:28:00 +0000

test

51 ways to become a better entrepreneur

noreply@blogger.com (Amit Shetty) — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 07:17:00 +0000

Great advice in general too!

http://bit.ly/aTLOWd

Make your point faster

noreply@blogger.com (Amit Shetty) — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 02:01:00 +0000

In my re-post series...

http://marketing.theladders.com/career-advice/5-ways-make-point-faster-better

Make your point faster and better. Some of the points I liked

1. Articulate ideas in plain language.

The less jargon you use, the more engaging you become.

Watch those long and cumbersome sentences.

Don’t spew one idea after another.

Keep your message lean, low-carb and free of nonessential words.

2. Hanger words

Use “vocal hangers.” These conversational hooks attract people’s attention by building excitement around what you’re going to say next. Examples include: The secret is… Here's the deal… Let me ask ya this… Here’s the best part… Think of it this way… Yes, and here’s why… Here’s my suggestion… And here’s the difference… The question I always ask myself is… I have one observation and one question — are you ready?

The secret to using vocal hangers is to pause ever so slightly before you deliver the goods. This heightens the level of anticipation and energy into the conversation. What’s more, the more you use them, the more you’ll internalize them. The more you internalize them, the more natural they will sound. The more natural they sound, the more they will become part of your lexicon. The more they become part of your lexicon; the more people will begin to expect them. And the more people begin to expect them, the more they will pay attention when they hear them.

3. Stories trump resumes.

Lesson learned: Facts are retained – stories are retold.Which one are you using to prove your point?

Delivering bad news

noreply@blogger.com (Amit Shetty) — Wed, 26 May 2010 18:45:00 +0000

Seen on a linkedin board by Jenny Feng. Absolutely true.

"Inevitably, at some point in our careers, we have to be the bearer of bad news to our customers (or even our manager). It happens to everyone, but the key here is how to deliver it without causing a permanent rupture. MarketeersClub.com offers these recommendations to handle it:
1. Lay it out quickly: Get the news out in a timely manner to the people who need to know it. Don’t hide the facts or exaggerate anything.
2. Have a plan of action: As soon as the bad news has been conveyed, disclose how you plan to address it. Show that you have a good grip on things and how you will rescue the situation.
3. Leverage the relationship: Talk about how your relationship with the person being given the bad news (or between your companies) has been strong and with their support you will resurrect it despite the current setback. Ask them for advice based on their experience in similar situations."

Product Management skills assessment

noreply@blogger.com (Amit Shetty) — Sun, 23 May 2010 21:51:00 +0000

A pretty good list.

Originally posted at http://bit.ly/coBdHm

The future is not Unlimited?

noreply@blogger.com (Amit Shetty) — Tue, 11 May 2010 07:16:00 +0000

Interesting - Comcast is now (maybe they have been for a while) tracking my usage, and has a 250GB limit. According to them, I used 8GB in feb, 15 GB in March, and 50GB in April. April was when my parents were visiting and took full advantage of Netflix streaming.

All this just makes me wonder -
- Why do I feel uncomfortable about having my usage limited - even if I am not close to reaching the limit?
   Probably because I fully expect internet usage to really take off as we have more and more devices that are connected and provide useful services over the net. At home, both our phones, our TV, blu-ray player, xbox and of course laptops are already connected to the net...
- How many personal users actually go past the 250GB limit???
   That would be an interesting piece of data. Are there enough of these already that Comcast is forced to do this? Or is this just the ISPs preparing for the future? Which leads me to..
- What on earth happened to "Unlimited"??
   Even the iPad is not coming out with an unlimited plan... I am guessing that people are learning (the wrong?) lessons from the at&t iPhone experience...

local seo - resources

noreply@blogger.com (Amit Shetty) — Mon, 10 May 2010 22:56:00 +0000

From Tony Emerson (Apogee results) and Laura Alter (Austin Internet marketing meetup.)

--
PRESENTATION SLIDESHOW: http://www.slideshare.net/asemerson/local-seo-keep-austin-searchable

Yahoo patent reveals how they detect local intent in users' searches:
http://www2009.org/proceedings/pdf/p481.pdf

April 2010 Emarketer Articles regarding Local Search

http://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?R=1007651
http://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?R=1007566

Creating Geositemaps
http://code.google.com/apis/kml/documentation/kmlSearch.html

SEO by the Sea - Local Search Glossary
http://www.seobythesea.com/?p=510

10 Likely Elements of Google's Local Search Algorithm
http://www.smallbusinesssem.com/10-likely-elements-of-googles-local-search-algorithm/519/

How to Create Effective Local Business Landing Pages
http://devbasu.com/local-search-landing-page-design-guide/

David Mihm's Survey of Local Rankings Factors (May 26, 2009)
http://www.davidmihm.com/local-search-ranking-factors.shtml

SEOmoz - finding citations from competitors (how to)
http://www.seomoz.org/blog/one-dead-simple-tactic-for-better-rankings-in-google-local

SearchEngineLand.com - Usability and Local Factors (mainly postulation)
http://searchengineland.com/googles-usability-fixation-reveals-local-ranking-factors-40579

hCard micro formatting
http://microformats.org/wiki/hcard
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HCard
http://searchengineland.com/the-hcard-microformat-local-search-optimization-12424

Distribution List of Universal Business Listings (you can pay these guys $30 per submission or just go down the list and fill out everything that applies)
https://www.ubl.org/Distribution_List.aspx

Places to which you should definitely submit your listing, other than Google, Yahoo, and Bing
Citysearch.com
Superpages.com
Insiderpages.com
Merchantcircle.com
Yelp.com
Yellowpages.com
Brownpages.com
Localeze.com
infoUSA.com
TripAdvisor.com
JudysBook.com
Angieslist
Kudzu.com

Google Tools for Success for Small Businesses
http://www.google.com/help/places/partners/sba/index.html

Chemicals in Food Can Make You Fat

noreply@blogger.com (Amit Shetty) — Mon, 10 May 2010 07:17:00 +0000

Interesting article http://bit.ly/99QUyw makes a major case for buying organic... especially fruits and canned stuff sounds like...

In your fridge: pesticides and PCBs
The Dirty Dozen: Non organic peaches, apples, sweet bell peppers, celery, nectarines, strawberries, cherries, kale, lettuce, imported grapes, carrots, pears
• Unsustainable fish: farm-raised salmon
• Corn/soy-fed beef and chicken

In your pantry: plastic compounds (in particular BPA)
• Lining of canned foods such as canned tuna, soup, beans and tomatoes
• Lining of canned beverages such as energy drinks, baby formula
• Sports drink bottles

4 Grammer pitfalls to avoid

noreply@blogger.com (Amit Shetty) — Wed, 05 May 2010 15:53:00 +0000

Most of these should be obvious, but I see a surprising number of people make at least a few of these mistakes. I know I am guilty of the last one!

Original post -

http://saleshq.monster.com/training/articles/3629-4-grammarspelling-pitfalls-to-avoid?utm_source=nlet&utm_content=shq_c1_20100505_grammar

1. Multiple Versions of Words

Since these words sound exactly the same, everyone has made these mistakes while writing, and spell-check is no help since they are proper words. When you go back to edit, pay special attention to which version of the word you are using.

There, Their and They’re: “There” refers to a place. “Their” is the possessive of “they.” “They’re” is a contraction of “they” and “are.”
Then and Than: “Then” is used to show chronology. (We went to lunch, then to the movies.) “Than” is used to show comparison. (The rabbit is faster than the turtle.)
Too, To and Two: “Too” means in addition or as well. (Jim is coming, too.) “To” is a preposition that indicates approach and arrival, motion made in the direction of a place or thing. “Two” is the written version of the number 2.
Here and Hear: “Here” refers to a place. (I am here.) “Hear” refers to the act of listening. (I can hear the music.)
Its and It’s: “Its” is used as the possessive of it. “It’s” is a contraction of it and is.
Except and Accept: “Except” means to exclude. (Everyone except Terry can come.) “Accept” means to receive. (I accepted his invitation.)
Affect and Effect: “Affect” means to influence. (The layoff affected his mood.) “Effect” refers to a result. (The effect of drinking on the liver is damaging.)

2. Bad Grammar

Regardless of what career path you’re on, basic grammar is expected of every job candidate. Don’t get caught in the trap of these simple grammar mistakes.

Either/or and neither/nor: Remember to always use the parallel conjunction when using either or neither. (e.g. Neither Joe nor Paul are going. Either John or Michael can be a substitute.)
Run-on sentences: Two independent thoughts should be separated by a period, semicolon or conjunction. No exceptions.
Dangling participles: Make sure that it is clear which noun the phrase is supposed to modify. (Wrong: After crying for hours, the mechanical swing finally put the baby to sleep. Correct: The baby was crying for hours before the swing put her to sleep.)
Would’ve, could’ve, should’ve: Don’t use “of” in place of the contraction ‘ve. (e.g. should of.) Just remember each of these is a contraction of the word have.
Compound modifiers: Use a hyphen when compound modifiers proceed a noun. (e.g. fast-paced curriculum) Do not use a hyphen for compound modifiers after the noun or following an adverb.
A lot: A lot is two words. Every time.
Split infinitives: This is one of the most common grammatical mistakes. Do not insert adverbs in between “to” and the verb. (Wrong: to swiftly run. Correct: to run swiftly.)

3. Changing Tenses

Switching tenses in the middle of a resume or cover letter can be confusing to the reader. But it is one of the most confusing grammar situations when dealing with resumes and cover letters. Since you are (usually) still employed at your current job, you use the present tense to describe it, but switch to the past tense to describe former jobs. Here are a few common tips to help deal with tense-switching situations.

Use the present tense when referring to accomplishments that are ongoing.
Use the past tense (ending in –ed) when referring to accomplishments that you have completed.
Never change tenses in the middle of a sentence. Break the idea into smaller sentences if needed.
Avoid starting sentences with –ing verbs.
Avoid perfect and progressive tenses when talking about accomplishments. Keep it simple.

4. Unnecessary Phrases

You only have so much room to sell yourself in a resume or cover letter, so why clutter it with unnecessary phrases. Many use these phrases to emphasize their point, but in the end, it just complicates the sentence. Avoid these commonly-used extraneous phrases.

It goes without saying: If it goes without saying, there is no point in saying it.
I will say this: You are already saying it, there is no need to announce that fact.
Exactly the same: If two things are the same, they are already exactly the same.
Each and every: Every doesn’t add anything to this phrase, just use each.
As a matter of fact: If you are stating a fact, you don’t need this phrase.
As far as I’m concerned: If you are stating your opinion, you don’t need to preface it with this phrase. It will speak for itself.
For the most part: If you are making a generalized statement, most is already implied.
In a manner of speaking: This phrase is useless since anything you write is a manner of speaking.
What I mean to say is: If you have properly stated your case, there should be no reason to point out the meaning of your writing.

Asking questions

noreply@blogger.com (Amit Shetty) — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 05:31:00 +0000

Focussed on "managers" but relevant to most conversations...

http://bit.ly/c6kubQ

Be curious
Be open-ended
Be engaged
Dig deeper

Some things that should always be factored into product planning

noreply@blogger.com (Amit Shetty) — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 20:18:00 +0000

Great article at zigzagmarketing http://bit.ly/aaQI62

These things were my focus recently in re-jiggering some of our investments our products, so thought it was worth posting...

Top 3 Culprits of Under-Performing Products

1. Vague Definition of Target Customers
When products try to be all things to all types of customers, the result is usually a mediocre fit for most.

The Solution: Prioritize your product investments on the customer types most conducive to revenue/market share growth and deliver closed loop solutions that have the most significant impact on their top or bottom line. You'll be rewarded with steady revenue increases.

2. Inadequate Definitions of WHAT, WHY & HOW
If your products have lots of features that are rarely used by most customers, you've probably delivered features without thoroughly understanding the context in which they're used (WHAT are customers doing? WHY are they doing it? HOW should it be done?).

The Solution: Get out of the building more often and learn the business of your customers. Make their business part of your culture. Ask WHY as it relates to everything and you'll build fewer features that have greater value to more customers.

3. Irrelevant Value Propositions
There's a one-to-one correlation between points 1 & 2 above and your sales and marketing effectiveness. If the dots aren't connected, your value propositions will be laced with product features and fluffy benefit statements that mean nothing to your buyers. Connect the dots well and your value propositions become very sticky.

The Solution: Define customer needs without regard to your products first, then add product specifications as the means for creating the solution. The reasons for building new products and features are the same reasons buyers pay for them.

Working better with sales

noreply@blogger.com (Amit Shetty) — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 08:16:00 +0000

Great post at http://pivotalpm.com/blog/%20three-tips-for-working-better-with-sales/ !

1. Stand out at the Sales meeting. Don’t just do another product demo, ask for feedback, and sit down – this is a guaranteed nap-inducer! (No wonder they all head to the bar after a long day of meetings!) Instead, liven things up with an Innovation Game or two. gather input on feature priorities by playing Buy a Feature or Speed Boat. Tap their creativity with Product Box or Give Them A Hot Tub. If you don’t have time to organize Games, call us – Mara and I are Certified Facilitators for this powerful and fun technique.

2. Remove a “choke point” in the Buying Cycle. You havemapped your product’s buying cycle, right? If not, take advantage of the Sales meeting to interview some key sales people and begin that process. They’ll tell you where buyers get stuck; where the delays in the process occur. Then work with Marketing Communications to address buyer concerns with the right tactics: a set of competitive talking points, a white paper explaining the product advantages, a case study that details a customer’s success… whatever it takes. This isn’t a one-time shot. Keep this conversation going with your Sales team and you’ll be a hero!

3. Perform win/loss analysis. This practice delivers powerful insights in several ways. First, you get to talk with customers to find out why they really bought, and leverage that in your marketing. Was it really the sales rep’s sparkling personality? Or was it a specific capability that competitors can’t match? Second, you get to talk with buyers who didn’t choose your product to find out why – essential information for segmenting your market and expanding your market share. Third, you get to find out more about the buying cycle and how well your sales team executed, so you can work to remove more of the choke points we talked about above. We think that win/loss analysis should be outsourced to an objective third party. Why? The results aren’t subject to any group’s tendency to skew the result in support a specific point of view.

Five Deadly Interview Mistakes

noreply@blogger.com (Amit Shetty) — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 19:53:00 +0000

Good article.
http://www.businessweek.com/managing/content/aug2009/ca20090811_865599.htm?campaign_id=yahoo

Interviewed someone recently who missed multiple points above - not a good thing...

6 Communication Mistakes You Can't Make

noreply@blogger.com (Amit Shetty) — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 22:37:00 +0000

Nice article -

http://www.saleshq.com/training/articles/2756-6-communication-mistakes-you-cant-make?page=1

Selling products you have

noreply@blogger.com (Amit Shetty) — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 18:09:00 +0000

Never mind their plug for a paid workshop. Dont know how it is, but I liked the article. Link and detail below.

http://www.zigzagmarketing.com/20090603216/selling-products-you-have.html

It's easier to sell products that don't exist because they can do anything buyers want. Unfortunately, no one makes money selling products you don't have. Here are three ways to get better at selling products you have and grow revenue faster.

Identify the target buyers that benefit most from your current products - as is. Determine the market dynamics most influencing those buyers and communicate how your products help them meet the market-imposed challenges.
Crank up the marketing machine - not with useless marketing fluff but with content that helps your buyers do something better. How-to articles, webinars, white papers and best-practice tips can fill the sales pipeline with low hanging fruit and won't break the marketing budget. Convince your target buyers you understand their business and revenue will come.
Train sales people more on the business of the buyers and less on technical details of the products. Buyers buy the most credible business story, not the best product.

Make it simple for your sales and marketing teams to communicate value.

Mind maps

noreply@blogger.com (Amit Shetty) — Wed, 13 May 2009 09:07:00 +0000

Seen on an email thread (Couldnt find who originally sent it)

Ways you can use a mind map:

* As a dashboard for all your current projects, then link out to detailed documents and add task, date and resource information to topics.

* To help organize and flesh out the structure of any written document - an article, proposal, report, brief, lecture, etc.

* To help you run more effective meetings by arranging the information in a more actionable way faster.

* To get ideas flowing at the very beginning stages of planning or brainstorming - the visual display allows you to see connections you didn't consider before.

Additional Product Manager specific uses include:

* Figuring out your strategy
* Creating business cases
* Capturing and organizing market research
* Brainstorming product & campaign ideas
* Developing launch & campaign plans
* Tracking competition
* Gathering product requirements
* Conducting interviews (e.g. efficient note-taking)

It can still be useful even if you are the only one creating maps in your organization.

Maps can often be good presentation tools that give others a diagrammatic representation of your points.

Furthermore, maps can be exported into different formats that people are familiar with, like Microsoft Word or Adobe PDF.

Beatles Fans Await Upgraded Re-Releases - NYTimes.com

noreply@blogger.com (Amit Shetty) — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 20:21:00 +0000

Time to get a 2nd set (or 3rd in some cases) of Beatles CDs...

Beatles Fans Await Upgraded Re-Releases - NYTimes.com

More SF things to do

noreply@blogger.com (Amit Shetty) — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 02:36:00 +0000

Shopping

chestnut st

union st

filmore

Antiques-
Jackson square

Restaurants-
eos restaurant

Teatro zinzani.

Mangarosa

Dim sum anywhere in China town!