

Posted by Bsaurus on May 02, 2009 in LOVE it! | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
I was writing a bit of my mémoire today and I was focusing on how the Internet changes the way we view information. Through the internet, we have access to an infinite amount of knowledge, and it's amazing to think of how much information we touch everyday just by signing into Facebook and looking at people's links, reading blogs or browsing on Google News.
I was reading Anil Dash's blog and saw that he wrote a post on "vision" and how it should be essential in reviewing how people run their businesses. As a marketing student getting ready to go out in the world, I couldn't help but be a little inspired by what he had to say. Here's a quote :
"And the truth is, Amazon, Google and Apple all make billions of dollars — that doesn't happen by accident. They should have clear goals about how to make money as part of their efforts. But since all of these companies also traffic in commerce derived from the artistic and expressive works that shape our culture, it makes sense for us to evaluate their efforts based on how well they articulate a desire to give back to our culture. They should make something meaningful for the world while making their money, at least as a happy byproduct if not as an intentional output. It's a lot easier for me to believe that employees at Amazon are doing something that's meaningful to the world at large than to feel that way about Apple's similar efforts."
And it's true, we need companies out there that have a vision of what they want to do in the world. I want to work for a company that has a vision of something bigger than only making money, and while I don't see anything wrong with focusing on profitability, I find that it is more important to me to feel like I am participating in something bigger.
At Six Apart, I would get excited about the fact that people were able to publish their thoughts, passions and ideas on our blogging platforms. At Firstgiving, I couldn't help but be inspired by the millions of people raising money to cure cancer, supply hospital programs, and help others just for the sake of helping others. These are two companies that really make it easy for people to do things that they might not have had the technical prowess to do themselves, and not only are they helping them doi it, but they are helping them do it more efficiently. At the end of the day, Firstgiving and Six Apart can say that they were a part of something bigger just by making it easier for people to do what they do. I can't deny it, but that sounds pretty visionary to me. :-)
Anil ends his post like this:
And just as importantly, we can use this criteria of vision, of responsibility for culture, as a way of analyzing announcements and releases in the technology world. So, last night, Amazon released their Kindle software for Apple's iPhone. Most of the reviews understandably focused on the readability of the text, or how well the synchronization features work. But I'm hoping that at least one or two lines of future reviews will spare a moment to think "is it a good thing for the world if this thing takes off?" My sense is that we're more likely to get positive answers to that question if the teams that are making these products are led by an appropriately ambitious vision.
Posted by Bsaurus on March 08, 2009 in LOVE it! | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)
TED.com is currently one of my most favorite websites to visit. I love searching the archives and seeing what some of the innovative minds of our day have had to say. The site is full of videos with authors, scientists, programmers and entrepreneurs all on various subjects. One I really like was by Elizabeth Gilbert on Nurturing Creativity and then there is another done by J.J. Abrams the creator of amazing television series like LOST.
The site is overall well organized, well stocked and a veritable online feasting ground for inspiration.
This morning, I was perusing my google reader and they had a TED video featuring Evan Williams of Twitter. I couldn't help myself, but take this little distraction and hear what he had to say. I was not disappointed. My favorite part of the discussion is at the end, when they pull up a Twitter search to see what the audience had been twittering about Evan Williams while he was talking the results being both funny and interesting. How amazing it is that today we can post our opinions in less that 140 characters and in like than 5 seconds. Amazing, right?
As you can tell Frankenhoodie and I are Twitter fans, and twittering is a fun way to pass one-liners between ourselves and also among our friends.
I've put the video below of Evan Williams:
Posted by Bsaurus on March 04, 2009 in LOVE it! | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Wow, just saw the newest Kindle that is going to come on at the end of February. Needless to say as a bookworm and a geek, I kind of want one.
I don't know what the reviews are about how reading on a Kindle affects eyesight, but even with that I'm really really (really!) interested.
Things that are different with the new Kindle!
It has more battery life, more storage and lots of other good things, but the size of it is what gets me. :-D So sleek, so shiny, so beautiful - I'm totally having a geek moment! I would be interested in touching it before I bought it though.
This is definitely going on my list of things to buy once I am a real person that, and a netflicks membership, a Deva hair diffuser, a MacbookPro and the list goes on to infinity!
Posted by Bsaurus on February 09, 2009 in LOVE it! | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)
What a genius product. I've been wanting one since they first came out but could never convince myself to buy an iPod Nano. The Nano has always seemed so useless to me - it's small, doesn't hold that much memory, and in the beginning seemed quite a lot compared to the larger classic. But then again, the things that initially held me back from purchasing my Nano are now some of the things I love best about it.
If the top three things make me like the Nano, the Nike+ feature of the Nano has made me LOVE it.
This is probably the best thing that I could have purchased over winter break. It was an impulse purchase, but I am definitely glad that I sprung for it. I had been mulling over buying the Nano and Nike+ sensor (I already had the shoes) during my entire vacation- looking for a way to motivate me to get on my New Year's resolutions.
And motivate me it has. There are so many thoughtful functions built into the software. Today, I made a goal to run at a good steady pace for the entire 3 miles, I was rewarded with Lance Armstrong's voice telling me that I had run my personal best. I'm even a tad embarrassed to admit this, but it definitely pumped me up and has me ready to get out there and hit the pavement some more.
Posted by Bsaurus on January 11, 2009 in LOVE it! | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Posted by Bsaurus on July 26, 2008 in LOVE it! | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Posted by Bsaurus on June 13, 2008 in LOVE it! | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
The ladies of the Penthouse and I watched the movie 2 days in Paris the other day, and we really enjoyed it. At first I was hesitant, the cover looked a bit too colorful, and the reviews a little too forced, but we were looking for a comedy because The Diving Bell and the Butterfly looked a little too- how you say- "heavy", for a night after a full day of work.
The female lead, Marion, is a photographer and one of the cameras she uses is a polaroid. I'm newly obsessed with taking polaroid pictures (check out this project everyday polaroid) after a. Frankenhoodie gave me my own polaroid and b. I found a Polaroid Land Camera. -brief side note on my land camera. . . I found it in the famous St. Ouen Marché des Puces after mentioning that morning that I really wanted another polaroid (vintage, because I'm lame) and just after going through the market we came upon it at the last stand for a mere 15 euros (I haggled the man down - of course - in FRENCH!) From then on I went to purchase the ridiculously expensive film (that makes me feel badass because I have to go buy it at the professional polaroid store) and reworked the battery. Now the only things that are stopping me from taking amazingly cute photos are grey days and the flash kit that I need to buy. I digress.
-But anyways back to the point. The argument between the couple is that the boyfriend Jack is not the photographer, but is always taking photos as a way to escape from the moment. Marion notes that if you are behind a camera how can you really see what is happening, you are taking a analytical look at a natural moment. So what brought this on was the fact that I just uploaded a bunch of photos and I can't help but remark during some of the best times I've had, come the smallest amount of photos.
When you're in the moment everything is so gloriously wonderful that is doesn't matter if you aren't capturing it with lenses and a memory card, because you don't need to. The moment you step behind the camera you leave. You leave as you need to steady your hand, check the flash, and get everyone together, but you loose what was really happening and are left with only shadows of what was.
At this point, I have nearly 2,000 photos on flickr and I wouldn't trade them for anything - because let's be honest, sometimes you need a shadow to give your memory lines to color within.
Read this really great interview with Julie Delphy about the film.
Posted by Bsaurus on June 07, 2008 in Film, Hello, I'm me., LOVE it! | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)
Even if you can read the text the youtube clips in this post are synonymous with some of the best things on the web. I will never forget the first time I saw "shoes" and laughed hysterically at it for a week. The deep voice of the 70 kid that sings, "Purple Rain" never ceases to pull me in with his rich baritone (honestly it's like richer than rich :-)
So check out the link and don't mind French.
création : le blog de la création: Weezer vs YouTube: la revanche des nerds
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Posted by Bsaurus on June 03, 2008 in LOVE it!, Weblogs | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Posted by Bsaurus on May 30, 2008 in LOVE it! | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)