Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category

Posted on January 22, 2010 - by Nate

Sleep Talker Blog

The last hour or so has seen a huge spike in the web traffic of my sleep talker blog. I think it is due in part to the sensation of the Sleep Talkin Man sensation that has been sweeping the web of late.

My roommate and I started the site a long time ago while I was still in college. I kept them up at night with my ramblings and we decided, just for the fun factor, to put the recordings up on the Internet for all to see. While the site itself is somewhat weird and obscure in it’s description of me, the recordings are 100% legit. I do take out the dead space in between my where my voice activated recorder picks things up.

I have not recorded myself in my sleep in sometime due to the fact that the transcription of doing so takes some time–which I generally don’t have because of all of the other things I have going on. However, because of the viral nature of the latest sleep talking episodes with the online searches for sleep talkers, it may be wise to start posting again. I did put something up there today that was from a long time ago, but is fairly new.

I hope you all enjoy as I may start posting more regularly.

~nate

Posted on December 11, 2009 - by Nate

My New Verizon/Google Droid Review

Those familiar with my life know this week has been a little insane. From Phoenix to San Fran and back home–then there was the other drama I ordered my new Google Droid phone, powered by the 3G network of Verizon last Saturday. Shoot dang, I’m not the most gizmo obsessed person on the planet. I’ve never been much for video games or been obsessed with too many things, but this thing is just so dang cool.

There has been a lot of talk about integration with various smartphones. I spent like two hours just downloading a bunch of apps–which were mostly useless. I think my personal favorite is the Pandora app, which allows me to listen to virtually uninterupted radio of my choosing right on my phone. One thing that impresses me is the fact that the screen seems clearer than that of the iPhone. There are a couple of downsides worth mentioning. First, the storage space is somewhat minimal for music. It’s not like the iPhone where I can have like 16 Gigs–unfortunately.

Another thing I found as a downside is the physical keyboard is somewhat small for my fat little thumbs. The on-screen keyboard is much better for sending text messages and writing emails.

All-in-all, I like the stupid thing. My favorite part about it is the ability for me to communicate anytime, anywhere and in any method I want. It’s freakin’ sweet.

Posted on December 4, 2009 - by Nate

“The Life of George Washington” by Washington Irving

I just got done muscling my way through The Life of George Washington by Washington Irving. I’m not even going to say how long it took me to get through the stupid thing, but it did have some good gems within it. Part of the problem for me in reading it was the fact that Irving was a contemporary of G.W. which made the read a bit less friendly to the 21st century reader.

I will be eventually be posting some quotes from the book here on the blog. I’m almost finished with John Adams by David McCullough–I’ve been enjoying that one immensely. While he earned the Pulitzer for John Adams, I personally like 1776 the best.

Stay tuned. I just hope it won’t take me a month to get to

Posted on November 15, 2009 - by Nate

The Three Digital Media Imperatives for 2010

In spite of all the unemployment and recession woes, marking and branding are necessary as the Earth continues to spin on is axis. 2010 will most likely be the year we at least begin to pull ourselves out of the doldrums of what has been a pretty harsh environment. Certainly, more jobs will be lost before it is all over, but we’ll come out of it stronger because and not in spite of it all. Going forward, for localized, internal marketing, there will be three necessities that must be implemented into your bag of tricks for 2010.

Mobile Marketing

No longer is mobile marketing about SMS alone. No, the mobile phone has increasingly become the pocket billboard. Mobile marketing will certainly lose its effect as the years move forward, much like email spam has, but it will continue to be a driving force for future campaigns. Opt-in messaging and localized traffic driving can be done very easily with a cell phone campaign.

Digital Signage

I, of course, have a little more reason to promote this specific market niche (I write fairly regularly at the digital signage blog), but it will continue to be a growing segment of internal and external marketing and advertising campaigns. Digital signage’s capabilities and applications are wide and expansive. They will continue to be installed rapidly into restaurants as menu boards, corporate lobbies, transportation vehicles, libraries, schools, fire stations…I could go on and on. Simply put, digital signs will, in the near future, literally inundate our lives.

Internet

Whether it’s Pay-Per-Click, organic search, or local listings, getting your business recognized on the web can be as hard or as easy as you make it out to be. In many cases, lack of knowledge here is the biggest barrier to getting things done. For instance, I have a friend that runs a homeschool site. I spent 3 hours with him one Saturday a while back, talking about how we could improve his site in the rankings and literally double his companies revenue–which is already fairly significant. Whether it’s local search or targeting your specific long-tail keywords, web marketing will be essential going forward.

These three fairly new and innovative digital marketing mediums can and must implemented in 2010. It’s not an “everybody else is doing it” mentality, but more of a “necessity is the mother of invention” take on what should and should not be done to promote your brand.

Posted on November 5, 2009 - by Nate

Negotiation Execution, 7 Steps

I’ve been perusing some of the book Closing Time recently and thought I would share some out of chapter 14 which is entitled, “The 7 Steps Guide: Executing Your Negotiation Plan.” It’s a great book for those of you wishing to further expand your understanding and knowledge in negotiation ability. Some of the following seven steps are really good at understanding the art of negotiation.

Posted on October 9, 2009 - by Nate

Android to take over iPhone by 2012?

Some analyst just predicted that Google’s Android will overtake the iPhone by 2012. While Mr. Sherwood predicts that Google’s marketshare with the Android will have quadrupled by 2012, he still thinks Symbian will remain the dominant OS for smartphones for quite a while.

The reason for the prediction:

“unlike Apple, they [Google] license their OS to multiple OEMs”. — Ken Dulaney, VP of Gartner.

Sherwood again quoted Dulaney,

“Android’s market share stood at a paltry 1.6 per cent during Q1 2009, but will grow to 14.5 per cent by the time Q4 2012 rolls around, Gartner forecast, based on an estimated 522m smartphones shipping worldwide during the period.

As a result, Android will move from its current position as the sixth most popular operating system for smartphones to become the second most popular, Gartner said.”

This is very possible. The market of smartphones has not even come close to reaching the mainstream yet.

Posted on September 24, 2009 - by Nate

Gmail Down Again Today

Once again, having problems with Gmail popping in and out of service. This is going to put a real damper on productivity.

Posted on September 14, 2009 - by Nate

MBA Application Essays…

Some rough versions of some MBA application essays I’ve been crafting…

3. If you were not pursuing the career goals you described in Question 1, what profession would you pursue instead? (For example, teacher, musician, athlete, architect, etc.) How will this alternate interest contribute to your effectiveness in solving multidisciplinary problems? (300-word maximum)

I love to wrestle, not the farcical Hulk Hogan, WWE garbage, but real wrestling. I have always enjoyed and had an immense passion for it. If I were confident in my ability to succeed as a world-class, Olympic-level wrestling superstar my name may have been readily recognizable. But alas, I have chosen to assuage risk by following a more “safe” career path. Without the innate conservative need I have to temper career risk, I would whole heatedly pursue a career as a competitive wrestler. Out of necessity, such passions have been transferred into other career avenues.

Like any successful venture, wrestling requires repetitive practice for flawless execution during performance. In the necessity of the moment, the successful wrestler does not make decisions, he reacts expeditiously from a repository of moves and counter-moves he’s practiced ad nauseum. It has been wisely said that 90% of human activity is based on habit and reaction, not deliberation. Hence, experience and repetition are often more indicative of the ability to solve multidisciplinary issues quickly and efficiently than almost any other form of appraisal. And, those who are impassioned about what they do, gain experience rapidly because more leisure time is spent creating effective reactionary habits to tasks. Conclusively, one could argue wrestling helps create the discipline necessary for the type of repetition which breeds perfection. Tackling multidisciplinary objectives can–after sufficient intelligence has been measured–best be gauged by the admixture of passion, fervor, and exertion.

4. Describe your experience during a challenging time in your life. Explain how you grew personally, either despite this challenge or because of it. (300-word maximum)

Almost immediately following my graduation from college, I was accepted to a couple of dental schools. I had, despite my business major, heavily prepared myself to enter the dental profession having taken 40 credits of extra science courses unrelated to my major, scored highly on the dental admissions test, and interviewed at nine schools across the country. Providentially, I decided to work for a dentist in the interim between my undergrad and and graduate work. This experience not only opened my eyes to what the dental profession meant, but helped me recognize an innate need to follow passions outside of the dental field.

I am not one to recant progressive decisions, but I knew I would not be happy or passionate as a dentist. I had more passion for previous “means-to-an-end” businesses I had started than I did for dentistry. Knowing I would never be a leader in my field unless I possessed passion for my work, I knew I had to make the difficult decision of recanting the offers of acceptance. This was an extremely difficult juncture in my life and a defining moment. During my undergrad, I had burned the midnight oil almost daily in very difficult classes, only to treat it as naught and move into the unknown.

Since making this difficult decision, I have found other niches of interest and passion. As a result, I am now more fully determined to return to school and reach my full potential as a starter and manager of successful businesses.

Posted on August 14, 2009 - by Nate

What Drives You?

I was sent a great quote from my ole’ man this morning in an email that I think is worth republishing here. I just love things that inspire greatness. 

Opportunity knocked upon the door and Wonder said, “who’s there?”  Courage went out to let him in for he had many things to share.  Caution then asked him to explain the things he had for us.  Interest intuited the nature of the business to discuss.  Logic debated where and when that this could and should be done.  Decision then decided who and Knowledge emerged as the one.  Hope and Ambition added bits as they conferred apart, and Faith just turned her smiling face and said, “when do we start?”

Life is pretty busy right now. My slow hammering through The Life of George Washington by Washington Irving has almost completely halted as I’ve jumped on full board to prepare for the LSAT. Some of my other projects have also been put on hold as I try to focus on learned the tricks of taking this silly exam.  

I often wonder what drives me. I have like 10 things going on at once, none of which ever will be completely accomplished to my liking. But, I guess that’s life. Living life to the fullest means there is always more to be done and fulfillment comes in chasing and living and doing those things whose ends are always frayed just a bit and need more attention. 

Learning to have happiness in spite of the frayed ends means you are a success, regardless of outside influence. I love it! 

Posted on August 14, 2009 - by Nate

And we’re the ones called “Infidel”

I just picked through an article I found in Google news regarding new laws in Afghanistan regarding the treatment of women. It makes me sick to my stomach. 

To quote the article: 

Brad Adams, the organisation’s Asia director, said: “The rights of Afghan women are being ripped up by powerful men who are using women as pawns in manoeuvres to gain power.

“These kinds of barbaric laws were supposed to have been relegated to the past with the overthrow of the Taliban in 2001, yet Karzai has revived them and given them his official stamp of approval.”

and 

Afghanistan has quietly passed a law permitting Shia men to deny their wives food and sustenance if they refuse to obey their husbands’ sexual demands, despite international outrage over an earlier version of the legislation which President Hamid Karzai had promised to review.

I think it’s ludicrous to think we are the infidels…