Technology

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TechnologyTable Of Contents

Date Publication Title

3/25/2016 FortuneThis Drone Startup Just Achieved A

Milestone In Doorstep Delivery

12/12/2015 Venture BeatAutonomous Tech' will surge in 2016 -

keep an eye on these 8 players6/2/2015 CNN Could this really happen?

5/30/2015 NBC NewsIn 'San Andreas,' It's the Science That's

Shaky, Quake Experts Say

5/12/2015 Social TimesDigital Natives Demand A Retail

Revolution

1/7/2015 Direct Mareting NewsHyatt Regency Maui Says 'I Do' to Social

Marketing

8/11/2014 PR WeekOfferpop App is Source of Inspiration for

Brands

5/5/2014 USA TodayDesign Mine:' Get Home Design Ideas with

Free App

4/25/2014 Entrepreneur4 Tactics For Surviving Facebook's Algorithm

Changes (Infographic)

4/22/2014 ForbesHow Four Eco Brands Are Using Social Media

Marketing Effectively

3/27/2014 INC. Is Your Co-Founder 'The One'? 7 Ways To Tell

3/27/2014 Entrepreneur3 Companies Share How They Stay True To

Company Culture Amidst Rapid Growth

3/18/2014 Entrepreneur5 Ways to Harness Hashtags to Drive Business

Value

3/14/2014 SF GateWebsites Help Dwellers Remodel with Just a

Click

3/13/2014 Bloomberg Business What's Your Workday Exercise?

3/13/2014 ChronWebsites Help Dwellers Remodel with Just a

Click

3/5/2014 iMoreBest Home Improvement Apps for iPad:

Houzz, Design Mine, Color Smart, and More!

2/24/2014 NBC News Not Your Grandma's Quilt

1/31/2014 The Wall Street JournalEntrepreneur Stitches Together A Quilting

Business

1/15/2014 Fast CompanyHow to Really Hire (And Retain) More

Women In Tech

11/13/2013 Ad AgeHashtags Breathe Life Back Into Social

Commerce

2/1/2013 CNETHedge Docks Offers Quick And Cheap

MacBook Docking Options

TechnologyTable Of Contents

Date Publication Title

1/8/2013 PC MagHenge Docks Add Connectivity To Your Apple

Laptop, Tablet

1/8/2013 Engadget

Henge Announces Its Latest Horizontal Dock

For MacBooks, Loads Of Ports For Connecting

Your Wares

12/4/2012 ReutersExclusive: Bally Technologies Eyes Online

Gaming Co 3G - Sources

7/30/2012 San Francisco ChronicleVideo Game Firms Look To Expansion Of

Online Casinos

7/27/2012 Bloomberg Businessweek - Small BusinessGame Makers See Jackpot As States Make

Online Gambling Legal

7/1/2012 Huffington Post

James Kosta, 3G Studios: A Wild Ride For

Jailed Teen Hacker Turned Video Game

Entrepreneur

2/29/2012 Mashable Timeline for Brands: How to Prepare for Your

Company's New Facebook Page

1/1/2012 Entrepreneur Belly Up To The Widget Buffet

11/1/2011 Money Magazine Point, Click, and Cut Remodel Bills

7/1/2011 Spirit - Southwest Airlines Diggerslist

6/1/2011 INC. Fabulous Facebook Pages

2/15/2011 PC WorldNew Tools Emerge to Help Develop Facebook

Pages

This Drone Startup Just Achieved A Milestone In Doorstep Delivery March 25, 2016

Flying robots are one step closer to bringing you anything you want.

Drone deliveries may be having some trouble taking off in the Unites States, but that doesn’t mean that they’ve been totally grounded.

Drone startup Flirtey said on Friday that it completed the first federally-sanctioned drone delivery in a U.S. urban area without the help of a human to manually steer it.

The half mile-drone flight took place on March 10 in Hawthorne, Nev., Flirtey CEO Matt Sweeny said in an interview with Fortune. Staff members programmed the drone’s flight path using GPS and then loaded a parcel of emergency supplies—including food, water, and a first-aid kit—into a box tethered to one of the company’s drones.

Flirtey then sent the flying robot to an uninhabited house where it eventually lowered the package to the home’s front porch using a rope while hovering above.

Although Flirtey had a drone pilot present to take control if something went haywire, the drone had no problems as it dropped off the package.

The Nevada-based startup performed the delivery with the help of its partner, the University of Nevada at Reno.

Last year, Flirtey made the first Federal Aviation Administration-approved drone delivery in a rural area by dropping off emergency supplies to a health clinic in Virginia.

Sweeny explained that its recent delivery was significant in that it shows that drones can deliver goods to homes without crashing into power lines, rooftops, street lamps, and other common obstacles in populated areas.

“We think the safest way to deliver packages is for the drone to remain at a distance and lower it into the customer’s hand,” said Sweeny.

Big companies like Amazon AMZN 3.43% , Google GOOGL 1.41% , and Walmart WMT -0.23% are all exploring the use of drones to deliver customer orders. However, getting FAA clearance requires going

through a lengthy approval process. Companies must also abide by rules that prohibit deliveries at night and those that are out of the eyesight of human operators.

That’s one of the reasons why Amazon has been testing drone deliveries in other countries like Canada and the Netherlands.

Flying robots are one step closer to bringing you anything you want.

Drone deliveries may be having some trouble taking off in the Unites States, but that doesn’t mean that they’ve been totally grounded.

Drone startup Flirtey said on Friday that it completed the first federally-sanctioned drone delivery in a U.S. urban area without the help of a human to manually steer it.

The half mile-drone flight took place on March 10 in Hawthorne, Nev., Flirtey CEO Matt Sweeny said in an interview with Fortune. Staff members programmed the drone’s flight path using GPS and then loaded a parcel of emergency supplies—including food, water, and a first-aid kit—into a box tethered to one of the company’s drones.

Flirtey then sent the flying robot to an uninhabited house where it eventually lowered the package to the home’s front porch using a rope while hovering above.

Although Flirtey had a drone pilot present to take control if something went haywire, the drone had no problems as it dropped off the package.

Flirtey drone lowering package. Source: Flirtey

The Nevada-based startup performed the delivery with the help of its partner, the University of Nevada at Reno.

Last year, Flirtey made the first Federal Aviation Administration-approved drone delivery in a rural area by dropping off emergency supplies to a health clinic in Virginia.

Sweeny explained that its recent delivery was significant in that it shows that drones can deliver goods to homes without crashing into power lines, rooftops, street lamps, and other common obstacles in populated areas.

“We think the safest way to deliver packages is for the drone to remain at a distance and lower it into the customer’s hand,” said Sweeny.

Big companies like Amazon AMZN 3.43% , Google GOOGL 1.41% , and Walmart WMT -0.23% are all exploring the use of drones to deliver customer orders. However, getting FAA clearance requires going through a lengthy approval process. Companies must also abide by rules that prohibit deliveries at night and those that are out of the eyesight of human operators.

That’s one of the reasons why Amazon has been testing drone deliveries in other countries like Canada and the Netherlands.

For more about drones, watch:

Sweeny said Flirtey was able to win FAA approval for its latest drone delivery over bigger companies like Amazon and Google because of its prior experience testing drone deliveries in Australia and New Zealand.

Separately, the company said in August that it signed an unspecified deal with fast-food giant McDonald’s MCD 0.59% . But Sweeny on Thursday declined to comment on its specifics.

‘Autonomous tech’ will surge in 2016 — keep an eye on these 8 players December 12, 2015

We’re about to see a surge in “autonomous devices” — devices that are aware of their environment,

their state, and incoming data and that have the ability to learn and make decisions on their own.

By 2020, an estimated 50 billion devices will be connected to the Internet. Objects you’ve never even

considered will become smart devices – dog collars, coffee makers, windows. That’s billions of devices

and trillions of sensors, too many to manage through human manipulation or the stimulus-response

commands of the past. It will become a practical necessity for devices to operate autonomously, and all

the signs point to 2016 being the tipping point for the emergence of the Age of Autonomy.

I’ve been watching this space since 1994, when I first focused my attention on artificial intelligence, and

the companies behind autonomous technology aren’t necessarily the big names you’re familiar with.

Here’s a handful of key players you’ll want to be aware of:

1. VIV

Called the intelligent Siri replacement, San Jose-based Viv is an intelligence platform that will soon

connect millions of apps to its global brain. Viv has the flexibility to process complicated commands,

countering the limitations of current voice-navigated systems, including predecessor, Siri, the voice

interface that Viv cofounders Dag Kittlaus, Adam Cheyer, and Chris Brigham helped to create.

Viv is an open system, enabling businesses and applications to develop its brain. The engineers behind Viv

have created it based on pillars, one of which is that it will learn something new every day. Viv’s founders

would have you think of their artificial intelligence service as a utility, not unlike how you think about

accessing electricity. Theirs will be a ubiquitous brain that powers millions of apps, devices, and machines

simply through the human voice. The ability for devices to have a remote service providing this

knowledge growth is one of the many autonomy trends we will see emerge in the next 12 months.

2. Wit.ai

Similar to Viv and on its way to becoming a leader in intelligent language processing, Wit.ai software uses

a voice interface to turn speech into actionable data for developers building applications and devices. The

software learns human language as it goes, building an extensive natural language platform for its

community of developers – a group of more than 10,000 users at present. Wit.ai is already making many

things possible, from voice-controlled appliances, drones, and robots to automated homes. This Palo Alto

company, backed by Andreessen Horowitz before being acquired by Facebook early this year, is making

just another case that open platforms will rule in the Age of Autonomy. Given its initial traction, Wit.ai is

well-positioned to deliver some practical solutions in the near-term, moving the needle forward.

3. Cohda Wireless

With Cohda Wireless vehicle-to-vehicle (V2X) technology out of Australia, vehicles are able to

communicate with each other as well as with smart road infrastructures to share information on safety,

mobility, and the environment. Device self-recognition and collaboration with other devices and the

environment will be a defining feature of devices in the autonomous space. Cohda Wireless

communicates via cellular, Wi-Fi, and DRSC to reduce congestion and avoid accidents. This will ideally play

a role in reducing the large number of injuries that occur in the

United States each year as a result of roadway accidents. The

company has also been involved in efforts to standardize car-to-car

communication. These types of direct machine-to-machine radio

technologies are key to supporting the inter-machine communication

fundamental to optimized device awareness and autonomy.

4. Saffron

Saffron technology, newly acquired by Intel, is spanning across

industries, including aerospace, insurance, healthcare, and

manufacturing to improve decision making. The San Francisco

company was initially founded in 1999 by former IBM Knowledge

Management and Intelligent Agent Center chief scientist Manuel

Aparicio and is led by former PeopleSoft executive Gayle Sheppard.

Saffron takes data from disparate sources and works quickly and

intelligently through a contextual memory to identify thousands of connections. This type of intelligent

360-degree view is going to be the game changer for bringing real-time autonomy to the device. Intel’s

focus on baking this type of intelligence directly into its chips suggests that the future may allow devices

to do the bulk of their learning and decision-making on board, without having to engage outside services.

5. IBM Watson Developer Cloud

IBM’s Watson Developer Cloud already boasts the industry’s largest portfolio of cognitive APIs.

Developers can bring their own data and engage with others to gain insights, extract value, and enhance

learning. Its natural language processing, computer vision, and cognitive capabilities create an ideal

platform for intelligent apps. Like many of the aforementioned companies, Watson is tearing down

information-sharing barriers. Watson partners have the ability to tap into IBM’s resources as well as

collaborate with communities to build platform intelligence. While the current Watson AI-as-a-Service

offerings are somewhat specific, IBM is systematically extending its solution set, addressing sophisticated

autonomy problems one at a time.

6. Edge3 Technologies

Edge3 Technologies out of Tempe, Arizona, is a vision-analytics company

that develops software for the future of self-driving vehicles. The technology

monitors, tracks, and maps the behavior of drivers and their passengers to

verify identity, levels of awareness, and heart rate, among other variables.

These factors will enable semi-autonomous driving to occur, while ensuring

car operators are attentive and capable of decision making necessary to

operate self-driving cars. No special hardware is required. In fact, according

to Edge3, technology as simple as 2D cameras will have the ability to apply

its technology. Edge3’s potential goes beyond self-driving cars and into robot

control and object dimensioning. It is this reach and application beyond

vehicles that can bring sophisticated autonomous action to the broader device world.

7. B+B SmartWorx

B+B SmartWorx hardware provides the infrastructure for machine-to-machine networks. With the

capability of integrating existing equipment and network technologies, B+B SmartWorx products enable

networks to adapt and evolve into smarter, more autonomous, responsive, and decisive systems. Unlike

large packets delivered by Ethernet hubs, B+B SmartWorx hardware aggregates and transforms data at

the edge so it can intelligently and efficiently transmit data only where is it needed, contributing to the

information highway just what is necessary to execute autonomous actions. Sophisticated networks with

industrial applications like this will be instrumental, as many companies will be moving data between

devices, appliances, and clouds. B+B Smartworx equipment is certified for UL Class 1/Division 2 hazardous

locations, offering one of the few affordable, off-the-shelf solutions to connecting fringe devices and

machines.

Above: B+B SmartWorx Wzzard Intelligent Sensing Platform

8. Filament

Billed as an easy interface that lets users build networks without needing to become experts in the fine

details of IT, Filament lets users deploy a wireless network at a range of up to 10 miles that can be

integrated into individual hardware for projects. These networks work without dependency on Wi-Fi or

cellular connectivity. Users can also monetize filament networks by selling access to their networks and

devices via the Blockchain and digital smart certificates, while ensuring their own data remains secure.

The makers of this Reno, Nevada-based company are thinking big – smart cities powered by their

encrypted networks. This type of low-power autonomous mesh networking technology could be key to

machine autonomy, which will require cross-device awareness.

Craig Macy is CEO of Onstream, a software company that provides real-time reasoning and autonomy to

smart machines. He has spent nearly two decades serving in a variety of technical, managerial, executive,

advisory, and principal roles throughout the high-tech sector.

Could this really happen?

June 2, 2015

Earthquake blockbuster shakes up the box office, but CNN's Jeanne Moos

asks how "San Andreas" measures on the accuracy scale.

In 'San Andreas,' It's the Science That's Shaky, Quake Experts Say May 30, 2015

If only the screenwriters for 'San Andreas' had done their science homework.

They could have kept their apocalyptic vision intact and still been scientifically accurate—just by moving

the blockbuster movie's mega earthquakes and massive tsunami about a thousand miles north to

Portland and Seattle.

But they opted for California and the San Andreas, which, scientists say, can't produce a magnitude 9

event, let alone a city-inundating wave of water.(Moviegoers beware: Spoilers ahead!)

"Even if the entire San Andreas were to break all at once from north to south you wouldn't get anything

larger than an 8-ish earthquake," said Jean Paul Ampuero, an assistant professor at Caltech -- the

institution from which the movie's scientist-hero, played by Paul Giamatti, is supposed to hail.

The disasters start early in the film, when a swarm of earthquakes on an undiscovered Nevada fault

shakes the Hoover Dam to pieces.

Not too likely, said Graham Kent, director of the Nevada Seismological Laboratory at the University of

Nevada and Nevada's state seismologist.

The engineers who built the dam knew there were faults in the area and designed it with earthquakes in

mind, Kent says.

And the movie's magnitude 9-plus events on the San Andreas are not possible, experts say.

In simulations designed to estimate the magnitude of the largest possible earthquake on the San

Andreas, the most anyone could come up with is a magnitude 8.3, Kent said.

And then there's the issue of the monster tsunami that drowns San Francisco, skyscrapers and all. Also

impossible experts say, because of the orientation and location—inland, for the most part—of the San

Andreas. Smaller surges are possible along California beaches. Those would be caused by underwater

landslides, but there's no way this type of earthquake fault can spawn a huge tsunami.

Kent says he was surprised that the movie makers didn't choose to set the action in the Pacific

Northwest, which could generate a magnitude 9 event. Earthquake magnitude is related to the area of

the rock surfaces that grind by one another. In subduction zones, like the Cascadia Fault off the coasts of

Seattle and Portland where the ocean crust is diving under the North American Plate, the faults are

oriented at a shallow angle instead of the near 90 degrees of the San Andreas.

That geometry allows for a much larger fault surface. And, in fact, geologists have determined that the

Cascadia Subduction Zone has experienced both mega earthquakes and monster tsunamis in the past.

"The good news," Kent said, "is that the movie, no matter how bad it is in terms of scientific content, is

getting people starting to talk about the inevitable, which is alarge earthquake in the West. That is the

silver lining."

There's no doubt that both Northern and Southern California are overdue for the "big one," the

magnitude 7 to 8 event that will shake San Francisco and Los Angeles to their cores. But the aftermath

will look a lot different from what is portrayed in 'San Andreas.'

The movie's computer-generated scenes showing tall buildings crumbling and toppling in both cities

leave real-life geophysicist Jack Boatwright concerned that viewers will get the wrong impression about

the safety of modern skyscrapers.

“Those buildings are designed not to collapse in an earthquake," said Boatwright, the Northern

California coordinator for the Earthquake Hazards Program at the U.S. Geological Survey. "The concern I

have is that we don't want to get people panicked about how buildings are going to function. You're

more likely to be hit by something falling in your office than by a building falling down."

A quake doesn't have to be nearly as bad as what's in 'San Andreas' to have serious consequences for

cities.

San Francisco got a glimpse of what could happen during the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, which the

USGS pegged at 7.1.

While skyscrapers did fine, certain areas of the city, like the Marina District, did not. City planners

learned from that, said Patrick Otellini, chief resilience officer and director of the Earthquake Safety

Implementation Program for the City and County of San Francisco.

"After Loma Prieta we noticed all the failures in unreinforced masonry buildings," Otellini said. "About

2,000 of those have been retrofitted."

Another issue was buildings that collapsed because they had too little structural support on their

bottom floors, which were serving as either garages or shops. Legislation passed in 2013 mandated that

some 5,000 of these buildings, which house about 125,000 San Franciscans, would need to be

retrofitted by 2020, Otellini said.

And unlike the movie scenario, where residents of the city are encouraged to leave, city officials are

hoping most people will be able to stay in their homes when the big one comes, Otellini said.

A big focus these days "is preparedness on the individual level," said Kate Long, deputy program

manager for the California Emergency Management Agency's Earthquake and Tsunami Program. "In the

movie The Rock comes from Los Angeles to San Francisco to save his daughter. In reality if you're

rescued it's going to be by your neighbor. How prepared you and your co-workers and neighbors are is

what will make all the difference in how well you survive."

Digital Natives Demand a Retail Revolution May 12, 2015

A fascinating case of Darwinian economic

competition is occurring before our eyes.

Legacy consumer-packaged goods brands

and retail giants, like Gillette and Sunglass

Hut, are being challenged head-on by fast-

growing brand-retailer hybrids appealing to

digital natives that expect to be engaged in a

digital dialogue before and after purchase.

Whether it is Dollar Shave Club, Warby Parker or Birch Box, these companies have traded large

brick-and-mortar retail spaces for direct-to-consumer distribution. In the process, they have

shown that the most valuable consumer interactions are now occurring in the digital space.

In the past, the absence of visual and tactile in-store experiences would have complicated the

process of building a digital-only brand. But the omnipresence of digital engagement through

video, photography and ratings and reviews has allowed these companies to build full-fledged

brands driven by responsive, real-time engagement with loyal customers.

These digital native retailers have changed the conversation and marketing strategy for some of

the world’s most established brands like Procter&Gamble or Luxottica eyewear. These

established brands realize that they are now locked in competition with digital-first upstarts that

intimately understand their customers because of deep, meaningful and consistent digital

interactions. They know they must engage with consumers to compete in a marketplace

increasingly driven by digital natives.

The backdrop to this retail revolution is a completely new way that consumers discover, engage

with, and become loyal to brands. Traditional competitive advantages are disappearing.

Distribution infrastructure, brick-and-mortar retail locations and traditional media budgets are

no longer a dominant advantage. Highly targeted consumer engagement is arising as the new

key to retail dominance.

These new native digital retailers are succeeding in industries that were traditionally controlled

by industry giants with unmatched advantages in scale, distribution and infrastructure. They are

tailoring their message to a new Millennial consumer that is the first generation of what will be

successive waves of native digital consumers.

As the competitive landscape is being democratized, this new marketplace is rewarding the

companies equipped with new tools — consumer engagement across digital channels, data

collection and activation, user-generated content, seamless digital customer experiences and

peer-to-peer marketing. These are now the competitive advantages that distribution,

manufacturing and brick-and-mortar store networks represented in the past.

Retailers like Warby Parker are taking these deep insights into customers’ wants and needs —

gleaned from engaging customers through social, mobile or digital methods — and using it to

drive sales strategy, product design and even the look and feel of its few brick-and-mortar

storefronts. As a Fast Company article on Warby Parker put it, the stores “are not profit centers

as much as marketing collateral, giant advertisements for Warby Parker’s website.”

The eyewear company has built a brand off of a willingness to engage with customers in

unconventional ways. Warby Parker employees have sent out thousands of “customer-response”

videos, often distributed via Twitter, where they update customers on the status of their order.

This two-way digital conversation lengthens the relationship with consumers and initiates a

dialogue that can lead to valuable insights about customer experience or product preference.

These tools are not just used to angle for a single sale, they are being used to build long-term

relationships with consumers that drive lifetime value. Dollar Shave Club’s subscription model

for a consumer-packaged good that is used almost every day by its clientele opens up huge

lifetime value potential and years worth of sales for each new customer acquired.

Gillette recently launched a subscription service, trying to adapt to customers’ demand for new

pricing, new distribution and new payment models. This shows that the retail transformation is

not only giving rise to fast-growing companies like Dollar Shave Club, it is re-wiring the way that

companies like Gillette do business.

Eyewear giant Luxottica have responded to competition from digital-first competitors like

Warby Parker by acquiring Glasses.com, an online eyewear outlet with an app that allows 3D

modeling of how the glasses fit and look on a customer’s face, generating photos that can be

shared on social media and voted on by friends.

This trend will only accelerate. It will challenge the world’s largest brands like Procter&Gamble

to continually meet the changing demands of customers in a digital world through deep

customer engagement and an intimate understanding of the digital consumer.

Retailers and consumer-packaged goods companies face both increasing pressure and

increasing opportunity from a Millennial and post-Millennial generations of native digital

consumers where consumer loyalty, trust and purchase decisions are dictated by digital

engagement with brands, not store-shelf product placement, broadcast advertising or

distribution advantages.

This is only the first wave of new digital consumers. Successive waves will make consumer

engagement the norm through frictionless digital retailing. That will be the key to understanding

and capturing the native digital retail clients of the future.

Wendell Lansford is the CEO and Co-founder of Offerpop, a consumer engagement platform

that works with the world’s largest brands.

Hyatt Regency Maui Says 'I Do' to Social Marketing January 7, 2014

The resort proposes its site as a wedding destination to prospective customers through a targeted

social sweepstakes.

Sad stories—even succinct narratives—sometimes have happy endings. Just ask the sales team

responsible for booking luxury weddings at the Hyatt Regency Maui Resort and Spa. Even

better, ask Josh and Todd.

Last October Josh and Todd got hitched in Hawaii on the breathtaking grounds of the Hyatt

Regency Maui as part of their reward for winning a Facebook photo contest the resort offered

with the help of Offerpop, a digital marketing software-as-a-service platform.

From a strategic perspective, the contest was a success: Hyatt Regency Maui created the

program to generate wedding-sales leads (80 of them) and to raise brand awareness.

On a personal level, the story was heart-warming. “When I proposed to Todd…this past January,

he was so thrilled—and immediately sad,” Josh writes in the entry form. “Living in Arizona,

marriage isn't an option for us.” For several years the couple “watched as state after state struck

down bans against gay marriage.” Arizona was not among those states, but Hawaii was—thanks

to the Aloha State's Marriage Equality Act of 2013, which built on previous allowances of same-

sex civil unions by granting the legal green light to same-sex marriage.

Challenge and choice

Hyatt Regency Maui is well-known for its allure as a destination for family vacations, corporate

retreats, and romantic getaways. But Marketing Manager Jessica Kapoor and her team wanted

to increase awareness of the resort as a destination for large and luxurious weddings.

Specifically, she wanted to generate more qualified leads to share with her sales

colleagues responsible for booking weddings.

Given Hyatt's loyal Facebook following (where people also enjoy posting pictures of their

engagements and weddings) and her desire to reach a broad audience, Kapoor opted for a photo

contest.

The campaign, which featured two stages, began March 10,

2014 and ran through April 14, 2014. The first facet

consisted of submissions: engaged couples throughout the

United States were asked to provide a photo and100 words

explaining why they wanted to get married in Maui.

Seventy-five couples completed submissions. The second

facet enabled Facebook users to vote for the winning couple

(from April 2 through April 12). More than 1,200 people

voted. People could vote once per day and share the contest

on their own social media channels.

Offerpop Account Manager Ashley Astolfi typically

recommends that companies run promotional photo

contests for two to four weeks. Since Hyatt's contest featured separate submission and voting

periods, Astolfi suggested the longer end of that range “to allow for plenty of time for

engagement.”

Hyatt Regency Maui promoted the contest with ads to supplement the organic social-media

sharing. To do so, the marketing team targeted key demographics in its database (age,

relationship status, etc.) and then used Offerpop's analytics to track the sources and ad

campaigns that drove the campaign participation across Hyatt.com, Twitter, and ads from

Facebook, The Wedding Channel, and The Knot, among other sources. This integrated,

multichannel approach to promotion “was essential to success,” Kapoor reports. “Facebook ads

in particular were effective and inexpensive for us to run.”

For each contest entry, Hyatt also collected key information—such as wedding budgets and date

options; and opt-in communications for information about weddings, honeymoons, and

vacations—for the sales team to use. The marketing team offered a follow-up contest to everyone

who voted: a shot at winning a three-night stay at the resort. Additionally, everyone who

participated in the campaign (those who submitted entries as well as those who voted) received

a 10% vacation discount offer. “This promotion extended the reach of our brand beyond

weddings,” Kapoor adds, “and gave us a way to further engage consumers already interacting

with us.”

Astolfi credits Hyatt Regency Maui's marketing team for having a “clear understanding of cross-

promotion.” It helped that Kapoor and her team established a clear promotion schedule and

developed a specific budget for the campaign. “This allowed them to reach a very wide audience

with a combination of email, Facebook advertising, and on-site promotion,” Astolfi says.

Of course, it also helped to enlist the help of outside content-producers, including the

storytelling skills of happily couples.

Offerpop app is source of Inspiration for

brands August 11, 2014 by Tanya Lewis , Be the first to comment

Offerpop enables brands to maximize their Pinterest activity by crowdsourcing and

curating content from their fans.

Specifications Offerpop’s Inspiration app allows brands to capture and curate user-nominated pins and publish them to branded Pinterest boards, landing pages, Facebook tabs or websites. Clients can store pins for future use. The app also provides real-time metrics, including unique visitors, performance tracking, follower increases, and participation timelines. Cost Price varies depending on the scope of a campaign, but it typically starts at $1,000 per year. User Julie Booth, digital director at Nine West Group, has been using Offerpop’s Inspiration app since April 2014. How do you use it? We log into our overall Offerpop account on the Nine West Facebook page. Facebook allows us to create a hub for any promotions or contests through Offerpop's Inspiration.

To set up a contest with Inspiration, you just fill out the fields, such as contest information, rules, and images. It’s a copy-and-paste format that takes no longer than 30 minutes to set up.

How does it serve your business needs? Being in the social space is important. As a fashion brand, it’s especially important to leverage Pinterest as an online wish list of what our customers are sharing so they can get inspiration from each other. We want to ensure we’re part of that wish list conversation.

You have to be nimble because the social world is always changing. Simplicity is also important to us, and we need tools that are very user friendly. Inspiration gets the job done, and it is also very easy for us to use and manage.

When you look at the history of social media and the history of launching contests, there was always development time, which delayed execution of ideas to engage your customers. Having a turnkey tool like Inspiration that allows us to get an idea up within 20 minutes is essential.

This spring we launched an ad campaign centered on the concept of the dream closet. The creative was an array of key items for spring situated in a pink inspired dream closet. The messaging was that women were going to need a bigger closet because there are so many great shoes to have for spring.

We’re always thinking about how to leverage each social platform in a unique way to support our seasonal messaging and campaigns. For last spring’s campaign we decided to use Pinterest to make the biggest virtual shoe closet ever, and Offerpop’s Inspiration app allowed us to do that, gathering the initial content on Facebook.

The call to action was really simple. We asked our audience to create a pin of a pair of shoes they loved and submit the link through the entry form on our Facebook page. We didn’t limit them to specific brands, but we subtly encouraged them to check out ninewest.com for inspiration. Entrants were eligible to win weekly giveaways of $100 gift cards throughout April.

We then used the Facebook submissions to populate our branded Nine West Pinterest pinboard, which was branded as a gigantic virtual shoe closet. We did moderate submissions to make sure we didn’t post any shoes that were obviously competitors but, for the most part, we were pretty agnostic because wanted authentic sharing.

It was our largest, most successful contest at that point in terms of entries and participation. It increased brand awareness and drove a significant number of new Pinterest followers for us.

How does it integrate with your existing infrastructure from an IT standpoint? It’s a simple, web-based app. We had the option to easily embed the contest on ninewest.com. We didn’t do that for the April contest, but we will look into doing it in the future. What are the main benefits? It is very simple and easy to use for both the brand and social fans.

We didn’t have to use outside developers. We want a turnkey option to get something up immediately, and it’s great we can do that in-house with our own team.

What are the main drawbacks? There are no drawbacks so far. What would you like to see improved/added? There’s nothing I can think of at this time.

The two-way dialog we have with the Offerpop team is really great. We can give them ideas and know they’ll be addressed. Offerpop is great about continuously updating its suite of apps.

Competitors Woobox: provides social marketing apps for sweepstakes, polls, contests, coupons, and more.

'Design Mine': Get home design ideas with free app May 5, 2015

For many homeowners, spring's arrival

means it's time for a major cleaning and

perhaps refreshing the look and feel of

home.

Whether you're considering a small

makeover project or a more ambitious

renovation, a new app called DesignMine

might just be able to help.

DesignMine by HomeAdvisor lets you see

thousands of home improvement projects,

which can serve as inspiration for your DIY venture, or to help you find a professional

in your area to do the work for you. The photo-centric app for iPad lets you see

"featured" jobs among the DesignMine community, or you can tap to look at projects

by space or style.

Under "Space," you'll find photos and design boards (a collage of photos) for areas like

Basement, Bathroom, Kitchen, Deck, Family Room, Home Office, Nursery and Pool, to

name a few. For "Style," you'll see options including art deco, arts & crafts, Asian,

Colonial, cottage, contemporary, rustic, Tudor, Victorian, and so on.

Alternatively, you can also search by keyword, such as "theater," "Denver," "modern"

or "landscape."

Select which of the high-quality photos you want to add to your custom album or

design boards (e.g. call it "Basement Ideas"), which can be organized in one of four

templates. Your design board can also include your notes and drawings. If you want to

share your own completed project or ideas as a design board, you can publish it to the

rest of the DesignMine community or share via email or social media (Twitter,

Facebook).

The "Find a Pro" features a directory of pre-screened, local professionals who've been

rated and reviewed by homeowners like you, says the app. You can select the type of

pro you're looking for (designers and decorators, cabinets, flooring and carpet, decks,

pools, painting, and so on) and/or enter your current location (e.g. "San Diego").

Other than no Android option, there isn't much to complain about with the attractive,

easy-to-use and helpful DesignMine app. Consider it a cross between Pinterest and

Yellow Pages, as it can provide homeowners with ideas and preselected contacts to

help fulfill their remodeling projects.

4 Tactics for Surviving Facebook's Algorithm

Changes (Infographic)

April 25, 2014

As Facebook’s organic reach plummets, brands that have built their

social-marketing strategy on a simple, single-platform Facebook strategy

will suffer the most.

In recent months Facebook released a series of changes to its algorithm,

resulting in the reach of page posts dropping as low as 2 percent for

large companies from a reported 16 percent two years ago. Organic

reach is the number of people who see a Facebook post without any

paid promotion or advertising boosting its performance.

What's the solution? Develop the social marketing strategy the company

should have had from the beginning: a results-driven effort diversified

across multiple social-media platforms and connected to other marketing

campaigns.

Businesses should harness the power of Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest,

Tumblr and Vine as well as Facebook. And they should look at the

content and the data collected during these campaigns in more creative

ways.

Here are four ways companies can react to Facebook’s declining organic

reach and build a more resilient social marketing strategy:

Related: A Guide to the Best Times to Post on Social Media

(Infographic)

1. Build a presence on other social networks. In some ways,

Facebook has become a victim of its own success. The vast volume of

content that streams through the world’s largest social network is one of

the main reasons its suddenly decreasing organic reach. Facebook is

crowded, and sometimes posts and photos get lost in this sea of social

content.

Twitter, Vine, Pinterest, Tumblr and Instagram are smaller, more

targeted and have passionate and engaged users.

Social reach is still alive and well on these networks, and companies

should leverage this to engage with fans, followers and potential

customers.

Does the thought of consistently being active on all these networks seem

overwhelming? Consider using a single hashtag to combine user-

generated content from all social networks into one campaign. By using

a branded hashtag, campaigns can elicit responses from Facebook,

Vine, Instagram, Tumblr and Twitter. With tools like Hashtag Gallery,

responses with the same hashtag from numerous social networks can

be collected and showcased on a website or Facebook landing page,

displaying the combined social response to a campaign.

A campaign that taps into the entire social media universe will connect

with consumers on whatever platform they prefer. This will also help

companies gauge the effectiveness of Facebook versus its smaller

social siblings.

Related: The Hashtag: The Search Bar for the Social Web

(Infographic)

2. Cross-promote campaigns. The decline of Facebook’s organic

reach means that some campaigns never get off the ground because

some content never gains any traction. Don’t let your campaign become

a dud; be sure to publicize it outside of social media. Using email

newsletters, television advertising and online ads, a social media

campaign will gain a steady stream of participants even without a big

Facebook launch. This generates momentum that gives the company an

advantage over other firms just relying on organic reach to spread their

messages through the social sphere.

Cross-promote campaigns by including the hashtag of a social campaign

in newsletters, contests and advertising, giving social users easy access

and a direct connection to the company’s social campaign.

3. Measure and optimize social-media performance. The company's

Facebook post impressions might be on the decline, but it's still possible

to drive business value from social networks. Marketers should shift their

focus to measuring the outcomes that matter.

Retool the firm's social post strategy by figuring out what content results

in engagement, clicks and sales. Test a variety of types of content (like

status updates, photos, videos, links), and monitor performance. Analyze

the days and times when the organization's posts receive the most

traction, and change posting habits accordingly. Put the ad budget

behind the content that can boost the company's bottom line such as

product listings, event promotions and coupons. Monitor, report, and

retest the approach.

Related: The Science Behind Crafting Contagious Content

4. Leverage social data. The changes to Facebook’s algorithm add up

to a growing social-media problem for companies. As companies' social

audience shrink, they also realize that they are renting, not owning, their

audience. Renting an audience means that companies must pay each

time they want to communicate effectively with consumers. Savvy

companies are pushing for more ownership of their audiences, and that

means collecting during campaigns contact information and other data

that allows them to connect with consumers directly.

Use contests to gather email addresses and mailing addresses.

Discover fans’ interests and then retarget them with ad campaigns. Find

the company's most influential fans and followers and form 1:1

connections. Then use this information to connect with consumers, drive

them to the company's website and take ownership of them as an

audience. This lasting connection with consumers will be a valuable

marketing tool even if Facebook’s organic reach disappears completely.

Related: 5 Ways to Harness Hashtags to Drive Business Value

Bonus idea: Collect and showcase user-generated

content. Facebook and Twitter built the framework for social sharing,

and users provide a constant stream of free content. This concept can

be replicated by companies on a much smaller scale, using social

networks. Use the company's customers, fans and followers as content

producers. Their images, reviews and feedback are powerful and

authentic content that can be more persuasive than marketing materials

but rarely fully leveraged by companies.

If the organization's Facebook posts are

getting limited exposure, run contests with

prizes or giveaways that encourage fans to

submit photos, video or blog content. Take that

content and use it in email newsletters or on

the company's blog or website or in-store

displays.

Don’t limit social content to social media. As

the company's Facebook reach declines, make

sure that its social content receives exposure

in the blog, website and newsletter.

Companies can even take that user-generated

content a step further by developing regular

blog ambassadors or on-the-ground photo

teams.

Below find an infographic that explains these

ideas:

How Four Eco Brands Are Using Social Media Marketing Effectively

April 22, 2014

Environmentally conscious companies don’t just sell products, they

promote a mission and sustain a lifestyle that benefits their customers

and simultaneously makes the world a better place. It is natural then that

when these “triple bottom line” businesses take to social media, they use

their authentic voice and positioning to simultaneously promote

philanthropy and increase e-commerce sales.

However, according to Offerpop, a NYC-based social marketing platform,

the most effective green brands “not only raise awareness for causes on

multiple networks, but tailor their campaigns to leverage the visual web

and user generated content by allowing users to submit conscious

content, give back and gain exclusive information.”

Here are four sustainable brands that are doing it well:

1. TOMS

TOMS gained popularity with their “one for one” policy (where they

donate one pair of shoes to a child in need for every pair purchased).

They now have over 2 Million twitter followers. They’ve captured that

audience using a variety of social tools and campaigns that keep

philanthropy on the forefront of their fans’ minds.

Best Campaign: One Day Without Shoes

TOMS annual One Day Without Shoes campaign asks patrons to go

barefoot to raise “global awareness for children’s health and education,”

and they are rocking it on social media. Not only do they have a

dedicated page on their website, but they hostInstagram meet-ups in

several social-savvy cities, offer a toolkit for those who want to

participate, and a Pinterest board (with 33k+ followers) full of shareable

fact photos and participant photos. TOMS delivers a fantastic example of

a social awareness campaign that actively engages fans and spreads its

message far and wide.

2. EcoTools

EcoTools is a company that offers quality eco-friendly beauty products

and gives back to great causes. EcoTools utilizes social content from their

team and fans to create unique social offerings.

Best Campaign: Hashtag #Ecotools

EcoTools used their brand hashtag #Ecotools to aggregate Instagram

content from their fans and share it via the Hashtag Gallery tool

fromOfferpop. They also use their team of experts toshare

tips and reward fans across platforms. They know how to create useful

branded content extremely well. They have a $10k giveback program for

customers to win money to donate back to charities of their choice.

3. Recyclebank.

Recyclebank is a company that rewards people with deals and discounts

for taking everyday green actions. They are leveraging their position as

green-lifestyle educators to be a hub for social buzz.

Best Campaign: LivingEarthMonth

Recyclebank is using Earth Month (April) to create community

awareness on social media under #LivingEarthMonth. They have created

a microsite that features content from Twitter and Instagram and aims to

inspire readers to make the most of Earth Month. The site also directs

viewers back to their website to purchase products that are

environmentally-friendly.

4. Loomstate.

Loomstate is an eco-friendly clothing company that has a lot of projects

to help make the planet a better place. They excel at blogging and their

social content is perfect for sustainable hipsters to share and like.

Best Campaign: Act Natural Blog

Loomstate offers easy-to-read, interesting blog posts. Content marketing

is a key feeder of social media marketing; they go hand-in-hand. Many

companies attempt to create blogs that impact readers, but few

accomplish it the way Loomstate has. Their blog posts are relevant to the

eco/sustainable current culture, and feature easy-to-digest bullets on

how to get involved and how Loomstate is supporting each particular

cause. They are a great example of how effective ongoing, well-composed

content can work for a brand’s messaging.

All four of these companies are using social media for social good and

engagement. They are proof that the two can be done in conjunction to

create the most impactful messaging for brands and our planet.

Is Your Co-Founder 'the One'? 7 Ways to Tell You'll spend more time with your business partner than your spouse--make sure you pick the right one. March 27, 2014

For years I had a friend who kept suggesting he and I should start a cafe-book

store together. It was tempting in a way--I loved the idea of a cozy place full of

people reading, chatting, and sipping lattes. But I always said no. Though I

enjoyed this friend, I knew he was always looking for get-rich-quick

endeavors. He seemed to expect the greatest return for the least effort. Would

he put in the long hours it takes to get a successful business off the ground?

Unlikely. Would I wind up putting in extra hours to make up the slack? Likely.

That was an easy decision, but often it's not so obvious whether a friend,

acquaintance, or co-worker would or would not make a good business partner.

Yet it's not a choice you can afford to flub. Not only will picking the right

partner affect your very livelihood, for a while at least, you will spend more

time with him or her than you do with your spouse.

How can you tell if someone is "the one"? For the past 21 years, Bill John and

Lain Hensley have been partners in Odyssey Teams, which creates leadership

development and team building programs. Here's their advice:

Try before you buy.

Not every potential business couple has this luxury. But if you can, spend

some time working together in the business before you both commit. In

Odyssey Teams' case, John was already running the company. Hensley

attended one of its programs, became friends with John, and began helping

out, first as a volunteer, then as a paid contractor. John promised a month's

work, then a few months, then a few more.

Hensley had recently graduated from college and wanted to be a business

owner. At the time, Odyssey Teams couldn't afford to pay either man a

substantial salary, so making Hensley a partner was both a way to recognize

his contributions and make sure that he stuck around. "He was just so helpful

that it made sense," John says.

Share off hours.

John and Hensley's relationship was cemented not only at Odyssey Teams

programs, but also while fly fishing, snowboarding, and building things

together. "We're both project-a-holics and we like swinging hammers and

building stuff," John says. It was during these extracurricular activities that

they both learned how compatible they were.

Travel together.

Anyone who's ever taken a trip with a friend knows that there's no quicker way

to find out just how well you do or don't get along. "Take a trip to the Grand

Canyon and see who wants to stay on schedule and who's looking to go off

and see the world's biggest ball of string," Hensley suggests.

You'll learn if you have a real connection, he adds. "When there's down time,

do you have healthy conversations? Do you talk about how you want to

change the world or do you turn the radio up? You can learn a lot about

someone in a short time."

Look for matching values...

One thing John and Hensley learned in their off hours is that each brought the

same high standards and energy to what they did. "He was a good fisherman

and I was a good fisherman," Hensley says. "He would build something well

and so would I. If we were going to run a race, we would both expect to do

well."

That translated into a similar work ethic at Odyssey Teams. "We would both

have the same high expectation for what we were going to give customers,"

he says. "And we can both work from 7 in the morning to 9 at night without

complaining."

...But dovetailing skills.

If having similar values and expectations makes for a solid partnership, having

different abilities makes for a successful one. "Now that I look back, I can see

how perfectly Bill and I complement each other," Hensley says. "Bill is really

good at Web stuff and financial complexity, where I'm more on the people

side. I love the delivery but I don't have the patience to work through the detail

side of the business."

Decide about decisions.

One of the most challenging aspects of any business partnership is

determining how decisions will be made if the partners don't agree. John and

Hensley learned this the hard way when they took on a third partner who had

academic training in their area but turned out to be a terrible fit.

"If we were in a debate, he would reach a point where he would say, 'I'm doing

it with or without you!'" Hensley recalls. "Bill and I would just look at each

other. We couldn't process that. We were a team."

Mercifully, the third partner soon departed. But the experience taught John

and Hensley the importance of creating a delineated decision-making process.

"We're wrestling with that right now," John says.

Pick someone who's fun to be with.

In retrospect, both partners say, the fun was missing with that third partner.

And it's the single most important element, they agree. "There has to be that X

factor," Hensley says. "You need some of that friend side where you have a

relationship that will survive whatever conflict comes your way. If it's just a

business deal, then when those conflicts arise, the off-ramp will come up and

you might make that choice."

"To me, it was all about character outside of work," John adds. "I realized that

if I partnered with Lain it was going to be fun on this journey."

3 Companies Share How They Stay True to

Company Culture Amidst Rapid Growth

March 27, 2014

Most companies start off steeped in culture. They begin as programmers

pulling all-nighters writing code or scrappy advertising agencies teeming

with wild ideas hashed out over informal brain-storming sessions.

But as companies grow, and specifically when they grow rapidly,

structure sets in -- often at the culture's expense. Soon a company that

was founded on a wildly creative, loose and fun company culture runs

the risk of becoming bureaucratic, stale and uninspired.

More and more companies are realizing that rapid growth when not

paired with an equivalent emphasis on company culture, poses a threat

to a company’s ability to recruit and retain employees, innovate, inspire

creativity and build brand loyalty.

Feeling like your company may fall in the same trap? Check out our

advice from two fast-growing companies and one corporate culture

expert.

1. Ditch the hierarchy and focus on a flat company

culture. Offerpop is a rapidly growing company in a fast-moving

industry. Based in New York City and backed by venture investors, the

social marketing software-as-a-service company has added more than

45 employees and opened offices in London and San Francisco in the

last year.

Related: Creating and Keeping a Positive Company Culture

But walk into their three-floor offices in Manhattan and you will see

company CEO and founder Wendell Lansford sitting next to an Offerpop

employee six months out of college. This flat company culture, room for

career advancement and company sports teams are all key to Offerpop’s

success in recruiting and retaining employees in a market that has them

compete directly with high-paying industries like investment banking.

“The company is very flat in terms of the work chart,” says Kevin

Bobowski, vice president of marketing for Offerpop. “Informally, it is an

incredibly flat structure because anyone can come up and talk directly to

the CEO, co-founders and executives.”

Besides having a flat culture, Offerpop builds on that camaraderie by

fielding soccer and basketball teams, which allow employees to interact

outside of the work environment. They hold trivia nights at the office, and

when they launch a new product, they celebrate with a company-wide

Poplaunch party where popcorn is served and different departments mix

and mingle.

“It allows people to connect, which is harder as the company grows,”

says Bobowski.

The emphasis on a vibrant workplace has paid off for Offerpop. Some of

the company’s more successful new employees are often hired from

referrals, as Offerpop builds a culture of “doers, not delegators,” says

Bobowski.

2. Instill passion and personal values. Reno, Nev.-based digital

agencyNoble Studios has grown 40 percent in the last year, a year after

being named one of fastest-growing companies in the nation. Much of

the company’s rapid revenue growth came from an early company

culture formed without a thought toward the bottom line.

Related: Making Gratitude Part of Your Company Culture

“We care about our clients -- money was the last thing that we actually

thought about,” says Noble Studios founder Jarrod Lopiccolo. “We love

creating and we love giving value.”

One way the company does this is through book clubs, where teams

read and discuss the same text. Team leads pick the books with an eye

for topics that specific teams needs to delve into. The book clubs help

align teams, spur discussion and ingrain a culture of learning in the

company.

The book clubs are one component of what Noble Studios has become

known for in Reno -- building the talent and knowledge of a homegrown

team in a second-tier technology city.

“A lot of the talent we had to grow,” says Lipoccolo. “But they had to

have the right ingredients -- the ability to think long term and not short

term. It’s exciting for companies to think that secondary markets can

foster and maintain this level of talent.”

3. Remember the big picture. Odyssey Teams is a Chico, Calif.-based

corporate training company that has worked with some of the globe’s

largest enterprises to build and maintain culture.

Related: Google Employees Confess the Worst Things About

Working at Google

One of the fundamental ideas behind Odyssey Teams success is that

many employees have lost track of the “why” of their work. They feel lost

in a sea of co-workers all dealing with one miniscule portion of a very

large task and fall into the uninspired monotony and ritual of completing

their work day after day.

Odyssey Teams breaks through that apathy by reconnecting their

audiences with the reason they work, the difference they can make and

the value of communication and collaboration in the workplace.

That says, Odyssey Teams co-founder Lain Hensley realizes that

companies cannot always keep the same culture they had when they

founded. They must be willing to evolve and adapt as they grow.

“You can't retain company culture when you are growing, you must

carefully architect its evolution and surrender to the fact that it will never

be the same as it was in the past,” says Hensley. “Look forward and

build something new that would put any startup, like you used to be, out

of business in a flash.”

Hensley says that good company culture does not always mean a

conflict-free environment. But strong cultures can survive conflict, and

even benefit from it.

“You need explosive ingredients to make a dynamite team, so be ready

to work carefully and deal with a few explosions now and again. If that

happens you are on the right track,” says Hensley.

Websites help dwellers remodel with just a click Jody Brettkelly Updated 10:28 am, Friday, March 14, 2014

Do you long to reboot your decor, but you don't have the time or money to hire an

interior designer, or just don't know where to start? Three new easy-to-use interior

design programs aim to help you find that perfect new chair, transform your kitchen or

even remodel your entire home with a tap of your keyboard.

Decorist Gretchen Wolfe Hansen, a former consumer products developer, co-founded Decorist

after struggling with her own design dilemma. "I didn't want to spent a fortune on a

designer - like most women, I wanted bite-sized help," the San Francisco mother of

three says.

How it works: Services range from a quick free assessment of your style to a $169

mini-makeover. For the makeover you upload pictures of your room and describe your

style challenge and budget. Within five days, one of Decorist's 20 designers will create a

customized and interactive board with all the ingredients for a room, and a clickable

shopping list.

Best feature: The website is beautifully laid out and fun to use. For the free service I

was asked to select my favorite pieces from seven boards of sofas, chairs, rugs, mats, etc.

to create a living room. I was then asked to sign in using my e-mail address (not

something I usually like to do) after which I received a half page assessment of my style,

including phrases like "less is more, modernist, ethnic accents, worldly look."

Bottom line: Spot on. (Though I must admit to being a bit miffed that the nuances of

my design sensibilities could be discerned so easily.) This does lead to weekly e-mails

suggesting furniture pieces and ideas tailored to you, but you can unsubscribe.

www.decorist.com

DesignMine Home Advisor, a website connecting homeowners with pre-screened home repair and

improvement professionals, has just launched DesignMine, described as "Pinterest with

a purpose." Users create personalized design boards from 30,000 photos that can be

shared with anyone. From there you can search for home professionals who might share

your style. It's available online, though until March 24 the mood board is only accessible

through an iPad app that requires at least iOS 6.0.

How it works: The website lists five styles and 20 spaces. I selected Contemporary and

then Kitchen, which brought up 2,056 photos, some of which were dark and not high

quality, with listings for the professional who provided the image. Clickable links are

provided for Home Advisor's pre-screened professionals. The app is better; photos

appear slightly brighter, with 32 styles and 37 spaces. You can also draw and write on

the photos.

Best feature: Making a mood board was simple. (Your e-mail address is required.)

Bottom line: It's a useful tool for organizing ideas before you meet a professional

designer, but not to identify specific items, though they are currently working with

manufacturers to provide that service.

www.homeadvisor.com/designmine. Also available as an iPad

app:https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/designmine-home-design-

ideas/id625335650?mt=8

Furnish Furnish is a simple way to gauge if a particular chair is perfect for that corner in your

living room without hauling it home or subjecting yourself to the nightmare of

assemblage. The app is free for iPads, iPhones and Androids. Though it was first

launched at the end of 2012, Furnish was recently remodeled for easier use, and 100

more products will be added to the existing 450 in the next couple of weeks.

How it works: It allows you to use your phone or tablet to superimpose images of

furniture - from Ikea, Herman Miller and Crate and Barrel, among others - onto the

backdrop of your room along with the ability to buy immediately. Just touch the

furniture image and hover your phone or iPad over the space where you're considering

it. Furniture can be scaled and rotated.

Best feature: I could see a red Eames rocker was perfect for the seating area of our

kitchen, but the color needed to be orange, and the black stand of a Crate and Barrel

lamp was too heavy.

Bottom line: Money saved, but I guess that's not really the purpose at all.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/furnish/id552805870?mt=8

Jody Brettkelly is an Oakland freelance writer. E-mail: home@sfchronicle.com.  

 

What's Your Workday Exercise? March 13, 2014

Bill John President and co-founder, Odyssey Teams, Chico, Calif.

“Every few weeks I afford myself a midday run—10-plus miles—on the fire roads of Redwood Regional Park. Usually by midweek my brain is on overload, and the only way to clear it is to go fast or long. When I ask a lot from my body, my best clarity and ideas come.”

Theresa Fette CEO, ProvidentTrust Group, Las Vegas

“I used to sit all day, and at some point I looked up and had gained 50 pounds. Now we do ‘Walks With the Boss’: We take 5- to 60-minute walks around the buildings outside while going over strategy and projects. So far I’ve lost 16 pounds.”

Richard Simmons Exercise guru and creator of Project Hope weight-loss system, Beverly Hills (He responded in all caps)

“THE FIRST EXERCISE THAT I DO EVERY MORNING IS TO COUNT MY BLESSINGS. THEN I HONOR MY ANATOMY BY STRETCHING, DOING CARDIO, PUSH-UPS, SIT-UPS AND PLANKING. THEN I GIVE MYSELF A FEW COMPLIMENTS AND START MY DAY IN A VERY POSITIVE WAY!”

Chris Terrill CEO, homeadvisor.com, Golden, Colo.

“I wish I could say I do some kind of amazing Brazilian gut crunches. The reality is that I put my wrists and elbows through an intense routine of pinball in our game room by playing Pin-Bot, the greatest pinball machine ever created. I only allow myself two games, because it’s simply too addictive.”

Websites help dwellers remodel with just a click Jody Brettkelly | March 13, 2014 | Updated: March 14, 2014 12:28pm Do you long to reboot your decor, but you don't have the time or money to hire an interior designer, or just

don't know where to start? Three new easy-to-use interior design programs aim to help you find that

perfect new chair, transform your kitchen or even remodel your entire home with a tap of your keyboard.

Decorist

Gretchen Wolfe Hansen, a former consumer products developer, co-founded Decorist after struggling

with her own design dilemma. "I didn't want to spent a fortune on a designer - like most women, I wanted

bite-sized help," the San Francisco mother of three says.

How it works: Services range from a quick free assessment of your style to a $169 mini-makeover. For

the makeover you upload pictures of your room and describe your style challenge and budget. Within five

days, one of Decorist's 20 designers will create a customized and interactive board with all the ingredients

for a room, and a clickable shopping list.

Best feature: The website is beautifully laid out and fun to use. For the free service I was asked to select

my favorite pieces from seven boards of sofas, chairs, rugs, mats, etc. to create a living room. I was then

asked to sign in using my e-mail address (not something I usually like to do) after which I received a half

page assessment of my style, including phrases like "less is more, modernist, ethnic accents, worldly

look."

Bottom line: Spot on. (Though I must admit to being a bit miffed that the nuances of my design

sensibilities could be discerned so easily.) This does lead to weekly e-mails suggesting furniture pieces

and ideas tailored to you, but you can unsubscribe.

www.decorist.com

DesignMine

Home Advisor, a website connecting homeowners with pre-screened home repair and improvement

professionals, has just launched DesignMine, described as "Pinterest with a purpose." Users create

personalized design boards from 30,000 photos that can be shared with anyone. From there you can

search for home professionals who might share your style. It's available online, though until March 24 the

mood board is only accessible through an iPad app that requires at least iOS 6.0.

How it works: The website lists five styles and 20 spaces. I selected Contemporary and then Kitchen,

which brought up 2,056 photos, some of which were dark and not high quality, with listings for the

professional who provided the image. Clickable links are provided for Home Advisor's pre-screened

professionals. The app is better; photos appear slightly brighter, with 32 styles and 37 spaces. You can

also draw and write on the photos.

Best feature: Making a mood board was simple. (Your e-mail address is required.)

Bottom line: It's a useful tool for organizing ideas before you meet a professional designer, but not to

identify specific items, though they are currently working with manufacturers to provide that service.

www.homeadvisor.com/designmine. Also available as an iPad

app:https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/designmine-home-design-ideas/id625335650?mt=8

Furnish

Furnish is a simple way to gauge if a particular chair is perfect for that corner in your living room without

hauling it home or subjecting yourself to the nightmare of assemblage. The app is free for iPads, iPhones

and Androids. Though it was first launched at the end of 2012, Furnish was recently remodeled for easier

use, and 100 more products will be added to the existing 450 in the next couple of weeks.

How it works: It allows you to use your phone or tablet to superimpose images of furniture - from Ikea,

Herman Miller and Crate and Barrel, among others - onto the backdrop of your room along with the ability

to buy immediately. Just touch the furniture image and hover your phone or iPad over the space where

you're considering it. Furniture can be scaled and rotated.

Best feature: I could see a red Eames rocker was perfect for the seating area of our kitchen, but the

color needed to be orange, and the black stand of a Crate and Barrel lamp was too heavy.

Bottom line: Money saved, but I guess that's not really the purpose at all.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/furnish/id552805870?mt=8

Jody Brettkelly is an Oakland freelance writer. E-mail: home@sfchronicle.com.

Best home improvement apps for

iPad: Houzz, DesignMine,

ColorSmart, and more! By Allyson Kazmucha, Wednesday, Mar 5, 2014 a 4:48 pm

WHETHER YOU'RE UPDATING YOUR HOME DECOR OR PICKING OUT NEW KITCHEN COUNTERTOPS, THESE ARE THE BEST HOME IMPROVEMENT APPS FOR IPAD!

Do-it-yourself can save you money. It can let you get away without having to hire a designer or avoid having to bring in contractors entirely. But what if you need a little help getting started? From estimating budgets, to finding out the perfect paint colors for the kitchen, to double-checking directions for laying down new tile, there are lots of iPad apps available to do just that. Here are the best ones!

Houzz

Houzz is your interior design go-to app when you need inspiration. Not only does it have the largest database of interior design ideas, it's beautifully designed and fun to use. Design different rooms to your liking, browse Houzz's Ideabooks for creative ideas, and more. You can even look up professionals in your area to do the work. From architects to tile layers, it's all there right at your fingertips, complete with reviews.

If you need some home design inspiration, the possibilities are endless with Houzz.

Free - Download Now

Digs by Zillow

Digs by Zillow specializes in remodeling and has thousands of ideas available. From featured remodels to those contributed by members, you can browse through ideas for virtually any room in your home. The unique thing about Digs is that it gives you estimates up front on what a specific remodel costs. That way you're prepared ahead of time before making any decisions.

If you need remodel ideas but want cost estimates before getting attached, check out Digs by Zillow.

Not Your Grandma’s Quilt: Hot to Speed Up a Timeless Art Form

February 24, 2014

Entrepreneur Stitches Together a Quilting

Business

Short cuts and video tutorials boost an outfit in Missouri January 31, 2014

HAMILTON, Mo.—This tiny farm town used to be known as the home of James Cash Penney

Jr., founder of the namesake department store chain. These days, it is better known in some

circles as the home of Jenny Doan.

Those would be quilting circles. Over the past few years, Mrs. Doan, 57 years old, has become a

veritable superstar of the craft. Her YouTube tutorials on how to make quilts have drawn as

many as a million viewers, some from as far away as South Africa.

Her family's Missouri Star Quilt Co. gets as many as 30,000 orders a month for pre-cut patches

and other quilting supplies. The 5-year-old company has become the second-largest employer in

this town of 1,800, its operations covering a patchwork of formerly vacant downtown buildings

that include a "sleep and sew" retreat hotel. Fans stop Mrs. Doan for autographs. "I can barely go

to Wal-Mart without someone recognizing me," she says.

The key to Mrs. Doan's popularity: she appeals to "instant gratification" quilters. "I don't teach

people how to be the best quilter," she says. "I teach them how to do it the easiest."

Instead of the weeks or months often required to complete a quilt, Mrs. Doan's method teaches

how to make one in as little as a day—by using a variety of pre-cut fabric patches a quilter

otherwise would have to painstakingly snip out and stitch together. She also supplies the

materials to do so.

"I'll show you something that makes it look like you worked really hard," she says.

That simpler process was the appeal for Carmen Leticia Attie, a psychotherapist from Mexico

City, who learned to quilt in 2010 by watching Mrs. Doan's videos. She also found Mrs. Doan's

breezy style less intimidating than that of other quilting tutors. "She makes you feel as if it is not

only possible, but easy."

Some quilters reject the shortcuts, saying it takes away from the history of the craft. "Traditional

quilting is the historical way to do it," said Linda Courtney, a shopkeeper from Stewartsville,

Mo., who learned quilting from her mother.

Bonnie Browning, executive show director of the American Quilter's Society, said interest in

quilting has been on the rise, especially people wanting to learn via the Internet. One reason Mrs.

Doan is so successful, she said, is she was one of the first quilters to start making online tutorials.

Today, there are several, teaching various approaches. "You know what, there's a place for

everyone in the quilter's world," said Mrs. Browning, whose group is based in Paducah, Ky.

Among America's estimated 21 million-plus quilters, Mrs. Doan is a relative newbie. She didn't

take up the hobby until 1997, shortly after she and her husband, Ron, left California to move to

this town 65 miles northeast of Kansas City, Mo., with their seven children. "We literally picked

a place in the middle of the U.S.," she says.

Her husband landed a job as a machinist for a local newspaper, but by 2008 his shop had been

cut from 25 people to five. "It wasn't a question of if I lost my job, but when," says Mr. Doan,

60.

Concerned for their parents' future, two of their grown children, Al Doan and Sarah Galbraith,

that year took out a $36,000 loan to buy their mother a professional quilting machine. "We were

thinking if we didn't do something, Mom is living in our basement when she gets old," says Mr.

Doan, 31.

To accommodate the 12-foot-long machine, the younger Mr. Doan and his sister spent $24,000

buying a former antique store for their mother to work in. Not long after she got it up and

running, Mrs. Doan says, her family noticed quilting searches were a hot topic on the Internet.

"Al said, 'Mom, we need to do tutorials,' " she recalled. "I said, 'Sure. What's a tutorial?' "

Their first, shot in her cluttered shop in February 2009, didn't go well. Mrs. Doan tripped on an

electrical cord and broke her leg. She still managed to grimace through the video. "She was so

awkward," her son says.

Subsequent efforts were better. Mrs. Doan turned on the charm, sometimes hamming it up. She

started an "Iron Quilter" competition, mimicking the Food Network's "Iron Chef" cooking

contest, with two of her daughters squaring off in samurai-style bandannas. About 500 people

sent in pictures of entries.

In the precise craft of sewing, Mrs. Doan isn't always the most polished instructor, but that just

seems to add to her appeal. "One time, she was making a quilt block but she almost cut it

wrong…and she laughed and said, 'How many of you were saying: NO, No…don't do that!'" said

Monique Atkinson, a 53-year-old quilter from Quebec. "I thought it was just hilarious!"

In 2009, Al Doan and his family decided Missouri Star could be a serious business. They noticed

that his mother's video fans would want to use the precise fabric she showed in a tutorial. So they

began stocking up on those fabrics to sell. "One day, we got eight sales in one day," Mr. Doan

recalled. "We were so excited."

Almost five years later, Missouri Star sells an average of 1,000 orders a day. Mr. Doan won't

divulge the company's revenue, but noted the business invested $750,000 last year to upgrade its

buildings, and now employs 80 workers.

Along the way, Hamilton has become a tourism destination for the quilting crowd. Most days, 50

to 100 visitors arrive to meet Mrs. Doan and members of her family in their 5,000-square-foot

main shop.

City Administrator Dale Wallace says the tourism is great, and that maybe the town just needs to

patch up its array of amenities. "For example, we really need to find something for the men to

do," he said of the husbands who sometimes come in tow with their quilting spouses. "Maybe

we'll put in a gun shop."

For now, Hamilton Hardware, once the location of the 500th department store in Mr. Penney's

retail chain, serves as a way station for bored spouses. "The quilters don't come in, but their

husbands do," said owner Eddie Ernat. "We have some pretty neat conversations."

HOW TO REALLY HIRE (AND RETAIN) MORE WOMEN IN TECH

THE BALANCE STILL TILTS IN FAVOR OF GUYS AT TECH GIANTS LIKE

FACEBOOK AND GOOGLE, BUT A FEW SMALLER TECH COMPANIES ARE

MAKING BIG STRIDES TO ATTRACT AND RETAIN FEMALE STAFF.

JANUARY 15, 2014

As the conversation around how to get more women into tech jobs continues apace, the

fact remains that women make up about a quarter of all employees at tech

giants Facebook, Apple, Google, Oracle, and Microsoft and less than half of new hires

in the industry.

Hiring more women is the ideal, but it’s a tricky proposition (not to mention a legal

sticking point) because a company can’t simply say men need not apply. So Fast

Company talked to two tech companies that have been bucking the trend and adding

more women to their staffs to learn how companies can really hire more women in tech.

Both Offerpop, a platform for social marketing campaigns, and HomeAdvisor, a home

improvement website and mobile app, have drastically increased their numbers of

female employees in the last couple of years.

And while vice president of HomeAdvisor’s human resources Shannon Garcia-Lewis

and Offerpop’s CFO Cindy Smith both point out that they hire for the best fit, not based

on gender, they agree that there are ways to encourage women to lead in tech and

other sectors by cultivating an inclusive culture.

CREATING A SUPPORT SYSTEM

As a senior financial executive, Smith says she’s used to being the only woman at the

table. It’s one reason she started LOOP, shorthand for Ladies of Offerpop. "I started it

when we had just a dozen women in the company," she says, in effort to develop a

cross-functional group that could share ideas and support each other. What started as

small group discussions has evolved into a much bigger entity.

Offerpop funds LOOP breakfasts to brainstorm social strategy, systems, and

productivity. LOOP has a book club (planning to read Lean In) and an on-site Zumba

class.

LOOP members also launched Women in Tech and Social Marketers in NYC meetups

at Offerpop’s headquarters. Smith says these gatherings have served to attract and

recruit more female applicants.

Though Smith admits that starting LOOP was personal, she also says there is a

business case for supporting staff outside their workstations. "In a tech company you

have to make decisions quickly," she observes. The way to make good decisions is to

ensure the decision-makers are a diverse group. Male or female, she posits, you have

to get the right people together and make them feel valued and that their contributions

are acknowledged. "If you feel respected, you feel confident to share ideas," Smith

says, which in turn, helps groom leaders who keep the company competitive.

ADVOCATE BEYOND YOUR COMPANY

Similarly, HomeAdvisor created WELL (Women's Executive Leadership and Learning

Group) after a noticeable increase in female leadership among it’s 1,000-plus

employees. Once the group got together, they saw a need to split into smaller groups to

tackle specific issues including a community "Dress for Success" outreach program

aimed at getting women back into the workforce. HomeAdvisor’s recruiting team helped

with career coaching in addition to donating clothing, Garcia-Lewis says. Internally,

pulling together the donations opened up a conversation about the finer points of

dressing professionally.

WELL also sponsors Lunch and Learn programs. "Like mini TED talks," says Brooke

Gabbert, HomeAdvisor’s director of communications. The more recent one featured a

woman VP in tech, Gabbert says, and because she fielded so many questions

abouttechnology careers, the next will focus exclusively on that. While these Lunch and

Learn programs are not exclusive to female staffers, Gabbert says the audience has

been comprised of 90% women.

She also points out that discussions about tech have seeped into other departments.

Thanks to exposure from HomeAdvisor’s mentoring program, the finance staffwanted to

learn more about what was going on in the tech department and have now incorporated

new systems into their workflow.

Garcia-Lewis says it would be difficult to calculate the results on a balance sheet but it’s

had an impact on morale, inspiring employees and increasing retention. Speaking

specifically about the Lunch and Learns, she says, "Our biggest intent is for

[participants] to raise their hand. After the event, they can take that information into

meetings and get in front of executives and talk more about what it looks like in tech.

We are trying to invest in what they are interested in."

DesignMine

DesignMine is similar to Digs and Houzz. The workflow is slightly different though and gives you design boards that can be laid out many ways. You can then add ideas to each. For example, create a board for kitchen remodel ideas and then pin remodels you like to it. It's a great way to visualize what types of colors and elements blend well together. And like Houzz you can also find professionals in your area to help with harder or more complicated home projects.

If you need help matching colors, elements, and styles, DesignMine is a great source of inspiration.

Free - Download Now

Digital Editions by Benjamin Moore

Benjamin Moore arguably makes some of the best paint colors on the planet. The Digital Editions app for iPad lets you browse through different collections as well as view the entire product portfolio for the year. Different editions feature different collections and most have illustrations and photography to go along with so you can visualize specific color palettes.

If you need help deciding what color palettes to go with or how to theme a room, Digital Editions gives great suggestions.

Free - Download Now

ColorSmart by BEHR

ColorSmart is an excellent app for matching tones before you paint, whether you're going with BEHR paint or not. You can choose tone families so if you're trying to avoid a grey that looks purple in certain lights, a tap rules out colors that fit that gamut. It doesn't get any easier this when it comes to picking paint colors and palettes.

If your picky about color tones and palettes, ColorSmart is a great app to help you pick great ones.

Free - Download Now

wikiHow

wikiHow isn't technically a home improvement app but it does offer tutorials on pretty much every topic on the planet. That includes home improvement. Whether you want to tackle hanging drywall on your own or want to tackle installing tile for the first time, wikiHow has you covered from start to finish.  

Hashtags Breathe Life Back Into Social Commerce Already Showing Promise as the Actual Mechanism of Payment By: Kevin Bobowski

 Published: November 13, 2013 

Social commerce ‐‐ the purchasing of products through social media ‐‐ is on the rebound. And that 

rebound is being aided by an unlikely ally ‐‐ the simple hashtag. 

Hashtags have migrated to Facebook from their origins on Twitter and are growing in use from Google+

to Tumblr as well. They have particularly benefited from the explosive growth of Instagram, where they

makes photos and videos easily categorized and searchable.

Now hashtags have an increasing presence in online search, and brands are realizing the hashtag's

potential to be a link that unites messages in an increasingly fractured social-media landscape. While

social networks will come and go, the hashtag is a tool that allows brands to be identified across any of

them; content can then engage the social-media audience on whatever site individuals prefer.

Hashtags are also helping brands make the jump from social marketing to social commerce, adding the

sought-after viral element to purchasing. When a consumer's social "friends" see when and what their

friend purchases, it opens up a powerful viral element to online transactions that can be leveraged with

coupons, discounts or offers. Unlike social commerce campaigns that are linked to only Facebook, a

hashtag-driven campaign brings in a social audience from any social network, multiplying the number of

online consumers a campaign can reach. And a hashtag can be as specific or general as needed, relating to

a single product or to an overall brand, depending on the campaign strategy.

Gartner research shows that 74% of consumers rely on social networks to guide their purchasing

decisions, but that influence is now divided across many social networks. Hashtags can unite and bolster

that influence, while keeping campaigns simple and user-friendly. Given that social commerce is a $14.25

billion industry, the implications are huge.

The hashtag also has shown promise as the actual mechanism of payment in social commerce.

Both Chirpify and an American Express partnership with Twitter are creating ways for social users to

purchase items with a hashtag. Chirpify has a name for this tweet-to-purchase symbol -- the actiontag. In

both examples, social media users tweet or post a unique hashtag that triggers an online purchase through

a connection to a pre-determined online account or credit card. After a simple confirmation, the

transaction is complete.

Hashtags are also crossing over to sites like Polyvore and Wanelo -- social shopping sites that have

harnessed the look and feel of social media for the sole purpose of online shopping. Wanelo and Polyvore

use the hashtag for internal search functions of their online inventory of merchandise, allowing site users

to discover collections and see new styles by searching for a hashtag under which all the items are

organized.

Co-buying website Buyapowa.com allows users to request that an item be offered on the website by

tweeting #buyapowarequest. ModCloth is using hashtags to allow social media users to compete

todesign the brand's new styles — giving engagement a whole new meaning that transcends the social

realm. By requiring that aspiring ModCloth designers tag each entry with "#modcloth" and "#wedding,"

the brand has used the contest to drive branded hashtag traffic right into the Pinterest feeds of social-

media users actively planning wedding purchases. Adding in offerings of coupon codes in exchange for

hashtag participation helps a brand's deals and discounts go viral across social channels.

The connection of the hashtag to social commerce is still in its infancy. We'll see that connection grow

stronger as brands use the symbol more effectively, and in more innovative ways. The thing we don't

know is where the symbol ultimately will take us.

If you have a laptop system, you might be familiar with the frustrations that can be involved with using it in a desktop environment where you might need to clear a space on your desk to set it up, or have it sit awkwardly to the side while you connect a keyboard, mouse, an adapter for an external display, and other peripherals.

There are several options available to help in these situations, with one that I recently outlined being the new Thunderbolt docking solutions that are beginning to enter the market. While these options reduce the number of cables to attach, they do still leave you with the problem of where to put your system. While smaller systems like the MacBook Air are relatively easy to tuck away, the 15-inch and older 17-inch systems are substantially larger and may still take up space on a desk. If you find yourself in this situation, then one solution is to use a full system dock like the horizontal dock from Henge Docks.

Henge Docks is a company based in Virginia that since 2009 has made form-fitting docking cradles for Apple's laptop systems, which offer a convenient way to not only attach all of your peripheral devices, but additionally hold the Mac in a way that both does its natural style a bit of justice and ensures it stays ventilated and accessible.

For its uses, the dock takes advantage of the MacBook's "clamshell" mode of operation, where if you close the lid and attach an external keyboard and monitor, you will be able to use it as a desktop system. The advantage that the Henge Docks dock offers is the ability to hold the laptop in a vertical position conveniently off to the side, and provide a means to attach your needed peripherals simply by seating the system into the dock.

The Henge Docks dock works essentially as a frame that grips the ends of power, USB, FireWire, audio, and Thunderbolt connectors,

and holds them in-line with the system's chassis so all you need to do is press the system into the dock to connect them all at once.

Setting up

While this setup is ultimately convenient in the long run, it does take a little assembly to get going. Out of the box you get a molded plastic dock cradle and a set of extension cables for USB, FireWire, and audio, along with a set of adapters for Apple's various MagSafe power connectors.

You then have to configure the dock for your uses by choosing which connections you want and then mounting them in the dock using the provided set-screws. This process does take a little time, though one easy approach is to attach the needed cords to your system and then feed them through the dock, followed by seating the system into the dock and tightening them down. While you can configure the dock with a select set of connections, one option is to simply connect them all so they are available for use at any time down the road.

Even though it's a touch cumbersome, the setup of the dock is relatively straightforward and should for the most part be a one-time deal.

Using the dock

Once set up, you can then attach your system to the dock by sliding it into the cradle, where it should align with the attachments you have chosen and then seat into them when you press down. This works well for the most part; however, in using it with my 17-inch MacBook Pro there have been times when a connection was slightly off and needed a slight jiggle to seat down properly. This can be prevented by ensuring the system is both vertical when seating it and also inserting it with care, but it does mean that the dock is not an option in which you can quickly plunk your system and be off and running, since doing so may chance scratching or nicking the edges of your ports.

When connected the system behaves as it would in any clamshell configuration, and is quite pleasant to have cranking away at the side of the desk instead of obtrusively laying flat and being in the way.

One detail to note is the ports on the MacBook will be hidden within the dock, so if you need to attach a temporary peripheral such as a USB flash drive then you will need to be sure to configure the dock with one of the included USB extension cables to leave dangling for such purposes. The same goes for the audio and FireWire ports, so even though the system is customizable in what ports you can add, if there is a chance you may need them at a later point then you might consider simply adding them all to the dock when setting it up.

Like most MacBook systems, my 17-inch MacBook Pro

has all of its I/O ports on one side of the system so the dock only requires the system be inserted to be powered and connected; however, some systems like the MacBook Air have the power port on the opposite side than the I/O ports, so you will have to be sure to attach the power after inserting these systems into their docks.

Limitations

While the dock does have its benefits, it also comes with some limitations. The first is that being molded plastic, the dock is lightweight enough so if you lift the system then the grip of the connections will carry the dock along with it. Therefore, in order to disconnect it you will have to grip the system and pull it from the dock while providing resistance against the dock's base. This is a bit cumbersome since the aluminum shell on Apple's systems is not the best gripping surface.

Additionally, for the larger and heavier 17-inch MacBook Pro, the grip needed to pull the system out of the dock is

a bit concerning, so I've found myself preferring to pry it up from the side. Granted this may only be a requirement for the larger and heavier systems, but in this respect, one detail the dock could benefit greatly from is a quick-release latch that could be used to push the system up from the ports and allow it to be gently lifted, instead of having to grip and pull.

A final issue with the Henge Docks dock is it form fits to the closed MacBook chassis, and thereby requires the system to operate in clamshell mode at all times. While this is the intent of the dock, it does limit you from using the display both for extended desktop purposes and for troubleshooting. If for some reason your system stops outputting video to the external monitor, then the only way to manage the situation is to pull the system from the dock, which will unplug everything, including sensitive storage drives that may experience corruption if pulled while in use. Granted in these situations you can undo the set screws for the connectors and slide the system out of the dock with everything attached, but having a quick means to open the MacBook's display if needed would be nice.

Overall

Even though the Henge Docks dock has its limitations, the device is still a remarkably effective and attractive docking solution. The dock would benefit from a lever release of some kind, especially for larger systems, and it would be nice to have an option for quickly opening the display if needed; however, despite this it does function quite well.

While Thunderbolt docking options may provide additional capability to your system, the Henge Docks docking station offers a quick way to hold the system in a convenient place and give you most of what is needed to dock your Mac. In addition, the price makes it an attractive alternative.

Currently Thunderbolt docks start at around $250, but this dock costs between $55 for the MacBook Air to $75 for the 17-inch MacBook Pro. In addition to the docks for MacBooks, Henge Docks makes a holder for Apple's Bluetooth keyboard and trackpad called "Clique," and a

number of docking options for iOS devices.

Henge wants to add functionality and connectivity to

your mobile Apple gear with two new docking

stations the company is showing off at CES.

First up is the Horizontal Dock, which is designed

specifically the 13- and 15-inch MacBook Pro with

Retina Display and the 11- and 13-inch MacBook

Air. Weighing roughly five and a half pounds, its

solid metal chassis matches the Apple aesthetic

while expanding connectivity options to include

three external displays, six USB 3.0 peripherals, two

audio devices, an Ethernet connection, an SD Card,

and a FireWire 800 device.

The rear of the Horizontal Dock also houses a

Kensington Security Slot, adding a helpful layer of physical security previously unavailable in

newer MacBooks. The Horizontal Dock utilizes a unique four-point positioning system that

properly aligns the system during insertion. Undocking the system, meanwhile, is easily

accomplished by the mere push of a button. All said, the docking and undocking process takes

under two seconds, effectively making the transition from portable to desktop a fluid endeavor.

Optional expansion software complements the physical aspect of docking by allowing users to

create multiple profiles on their laptops for desktop and portable computing. The Horizontal

Dock is slated for release in the third quarter for $249. A Thunderbolt-enabled version will be

released in Q4, for $349.

For smaller iOS devices like the Apple

iPhone, iPad, and iPod, Henge offers up its

Gravitas Dock. Although its all-metal chassis

measures just 3 inches in diameter and is only

2 inches tall, it's constructed out of a dense

metal alloy, whose weight lends a measure of

stability to docked devices, while ensuring

that the Gravitas stays put when they're

undocked..

The Gravitas will be available in Lightning or

30-pin connector versions; both models

featuring a USB port and an audio line-out.

You also get three interchangeable inserts

designed to accommodate the different iOS

devices and most third-party cases. Both

versions of the Gravitas dock will be

available in Q2 for $69 apiece.

(Reuters) - Slot-machine maker Bally Technologies is exploring a bid for online poker game developer 3G Studios, in what would be the latest deal to combine online gambling and casino gaming on social media, said two sources with knowledge of the talks.

One source said several Bally Technologies executives were scheduled to visit 3G's offices in Reno, Nevada on Tuesday to determine whether to make a formal bid.

Bally had no immediate comment. Abbi Whitaker, a spokeswoman for Reno, Nevada-based 3G Studios declined comment but acknowledged the company recently hired Wedbush Securities as its financial adviser.

Another source familiar with the matter said 3G, which helped develop a mobile version of the music video game Rock Band for Harmonix Music Systems, had been talking with others about a potential acquisition or partnerships.

"3G is holding initial talks with potential buyers," said that source, mentioning video game maker Activision Blizzard, slot-machine maker International Game Technology and video game giant Electronic Arts as potential buyers or partners.

A sale of 3G could range between $60 million and $100 million, the source said.

Activision Blizzard had no immediate comment, while IGT and Electronic Arts declined comment.

In August, 3G Studios applied to the Nevada Gaming Control Board for an online gaming license, and it is scheduled to start an online poker site called SlotALot with casino operator Eldorado Hotels in the spring. It also makes a free game available on tablets and smart phones that is played for virtual currency.

Other slot makers have made moves to enter social gaming, which they view as a way to market to younger gamblers as well as tap a potentially lucrative market for online market that generates revenues by charging users to pay for virtual chips.

Several U.S. casino operators are teaming with online game developers as they gear up for the Internet gambling market which is expected to reach $10 billion in bets a year by 2017.

Market leader IGT paid $500 million in January for DoubleDown Interactive, which makes free slots, poker and other games for Facebook. DoubleDown produced $35.8 million in fourth-quarter revenues, IGT said, a 20 percent hike from the third quarter.

"The social gaming business is up for grabs. I think we're in a space where we'll see deal activity, largely on the technology side. For casinos, social gaming content is king right now," said Carlo Santarelli, analyst with Deutsche Bank.

Online gambling is now legal in Nevada and Delaware, while Wisconsin, New Jersey, California, and nine other states are moving towards legalization after the Justice Department ruled last year that only online betting on sporting contests was unlawful.

According to the American Gaming Association, about 85 countries have legalized online gambling and an estimated $35 billion is being bet worldwide online each year, including by millions of people in the United States.

Slot maker WMS Industries Inc said in October it expected to announce partnerships to provide online game platforms to land-based casino operators.

Both IGT and Bally have been granted online gaming licenses in Nevada, which allows them to partner with Nevada's casinos to provide online poker and other games through their machines.

Social gaming company Zynga, a market leader with 34 million online users of its virtual currency poker title on Facebook, has said it plans to move into real money gambling.

But some industry executives see Zynga as an attractive takeover target with its stock price hoving just above $2 a share down from a 52-week high of $15.91.

By Kate Abbott on July 27, 2012

3G Studios, a video game developer in Reno, Nev., is betting on online gambling. The private

company, with 47 U.S. employees, has hired almost 80 new contractors in India and China and

expects to have 200 dedicated solely to making gambling games by the end of the year. 3G is

one of a handful of game makers jockeying for gambling business, expecting states, hungry for

new tax revenue, to open the floodgates for Internet casinos.

Nevada is accepting applications for online gambling licenses, and in June, Delaware became the

first state to approve online casino gambling for state residents, starting next year. States

including California and New Jersey are considering loosening the rules for wagering on the

Web after the Department of Justice reversed a longtime ban on many types of Internet betting in

December.

3G Chief Executive Officer James Kosta thinks online gambling will draw bettors beyond the

casino crowd, just as casual games such as Angry Birds attracted new players who would never

log on to World of Warcraft. “Gambling is fundamentally going to change from something …

where you had to sit in a casino and physically spin the wheel, to something that you could do

casually while you have a three-minute break at work,” he says.

(Kosta, who once worked for the CIA, has a colorful past. He settled a lawsuit with the Securities

and Exchange Commission in 2004 over his alleged involvement in a pump-and-dump stock

scheme and was ultimately required to pay $50,000. Kosta said in a statement that he was “never

a subject of a criminal investigation” and “there was no admission or proof of wrongdoing in the

agreement.”)

The 6-year-old game developer, which helped produce Jillian Michaels’ Fitness Ultimatum 2009

and released its own first-person shooter title, Brave Arms, on Facebook (FB), plans to launch an

online slot machine site in August. Americans will play for free with virtual currency until it is

legal to wager cash, Kosta says, while European customers will be able to play for real money.

3G isn’t alone in anticipating looser gambling rules. Betable, a London startup, recently

announced plans to help game developers add real-money betting, both on the Web and on

mobile phones, in jurisdictions where online wagering is legal. In February, Zynga (ZNGA)

CEO Marc Pincus said the company is open to the possibility of entering the social gambling

sphere. International Game Technology (IGT) acquired one of Facebook’s more popular virtual

casinos, Double Down Interactive, for $500 million in January.

But John Acres, founder of casino consultant group Acres 4.0, says game studios are wasting

their efforts. Even if online gambling is legalized, there will be so much red tape that most tech

companies won’t be able to make money, he says. “It’s not a matter of tech but a matter of

licensing,” Acres says. States must provide licenses for Internet gambling, and the process will

be lengthy and complicated.

That means the deck is stacked in favor of companies that already have licenses: existing casino

giants such as MGM Resorts (MGM) and Bally (BYI). Like 3G and other upstarts, established

gambling companies are currently building Web presences with play-money games to draw in

potential players. In addition building to its own games, 3G has partnered with Bally to help the

casino develop online offerings. Other game makers that don’t partner with the casinos could be

pushed out of the profits.

The giants could still benefit even if online gambling isn’t legalized. Chicago-based slot-machine

maker WMS Industries (WMS) in mid-July announced the creation of a new division, Williams

Interactive, to oversee its products on the Web. The group recently released its second Facebook

offering: Jackpot Party Casino, which builds on popular brands currently available in brick-and-

mortar casinos.

Williams Interactive CEO Orrin Edidin says having slots both online and in the real world could

attract new customers for casinos. “We help build a community of players … that you can

market to convert from free-to-play to pay-for-play,” he says.

Kosta says 3G will profit as non-gamblers begin to places small bets on casual games. He

anticipates the studio will invest $5 million in its gambling business over the next few years.

Even if online betting is slow to come to the U.S., he expects the investment to pay off as game

players in Europe and elsewhere warm to the idea. “When people are going to be willing to bet

$5 or $10 a week … when you get 140 million of those devices together, it’s going to make for a

whole lot of money changing hands every week,” he says. Kosta, at least, appears to be going all

in.

James Kosta, 3G Studios: A Wild Ride For

Jailed Teen Hacker Turned Video Game

Entrepreneur

Posted: 07/23/2012 2:48 pm Updated: 07/23/2012 3:26 pm

James Kosta woke up at 5 a.m. to the sound of someone pounding on his door. Groggy and

naked, he opened the door and was tackled by members of an FBI tactical team, armed with MP5

submachine guns, who started securing all his computers. Kosta was 14 years old.

Kosta's life has often played out like some surreal video game. At 13 years old, he emancipated

himself from his parents, only to be busted by the feds one year later for illegal hacking. After

his release, Kosta worked for the CIA, and by 24, he was a tech entrepreneur making millions.

Today, Kosta, 37, runs 3G Studios Inc., a video game business that's set to pull in $10.5 million

in revenue this year.

But startup success wasn't what Kosta expected for himself as a teenager facing 45 years of jail

time for 45 counts of technical burglary, including hacking into the systems of major banks, GE

and IBM. When a judge gave him a break, Kosta seized the opportunity to turn his life around.

HuffPost Small Business found out how Kosta's intense reality eventually led to virtual success.

Why did you seek emancipation from your parents?

I was making money from consulting work, so I approached the school with the idea of

formalizing the high school computer club I had started into a business. By my 13th birthday, I

was earning about $1,500 a month ... and spending money with friends, coming home late,

skipping school. When I had an 18-year-old girlfriend, my parents said if I lived under their roof,

I'd have to concentrate on school, give up my girlfriend and shut down my business. I went to

court and proved to a judge I was responsible enough to be on my own.

How did you turn your computer skills to hacking?

I fell in with a bad crowd focused on what networks we could get into, both military and

commercial. Just like gangs and the mob have initiations, if you want to be part of the most high-

profile, advanced hacking groups, you have to cut your teeth. It was nothing destructive. A lot of

it was for bragging rights, to say you pulled something off.

You might have been a global hacker when you were arrested, but you were still a kid.

Were you scared?

I was terrified. When you're that young, because your parents always give you warnings, you

expect someone to say, hey, knock it off. I never expected any action like that. Also, what came

to light very quickly was that I wasn't technically a kid. When you're emancipated, they have the

right to charge you as an adult.

How were you able to get out of the 45-year sentence?

After being in for almost a year, the judge agreed to suspend my sentence if I didn't commit

another crime and I agreed to join the military when I was eligible. I think what he saw was an

intelligent kid who needed discipline. For me, it was a no-brainer. I knew if I went to maximum

security for youth, a guy like me probably woudn't have a good experience.

In between, they stuck me in a boys camp in Santa Barbara. We were on the second line of

fighting forest fires. To see those firefighters in action and have them respect me meant a lot, and

shaped me as a man. That's when I first realized I could be helpful to people instead of being

nefarious.

At 18, you started serving in the Navy. How did you end up in the analyst division of the

CIA by age 20?

I was working on a Naval Intelligence project that got transferred to the CIA. I was responsible

for tracking the money going to various warlords and radical sheiks in North Africa and the

Middle East. Then I was doing penetration testing on military installations, working with IT

groups to see if I could steal data from outside. It was the beginning preparation for

technological warfare.

How did you transition from the military to making millions?

I got recruited as a Microsoft contractor straight out of CIA. I was consulting with multiple

companies, then my brother and I started one of the first commercial websites focused on

financial markets. In 1999, we sold our dotcoms for tens of millions of dollars.

After 9/11, how did you start working for the CIA again?

I offered to simulate Las Vegas getting hit with a dirty bomb and how rescuers could lock down

the city. We were using a game engine by the company that did Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon,

where we dropped these bad guys into Las Vegas and started [pursuing] them. We thought that

was more fun than the simulation business, and our heart was aching to move toward commercial

video game development, so we steered the company in that direction.

Your reality has been so intense, what drew you to virtual world?

I fell in love with the concept of interactive entertainment, allowing people to make their own

story. The analyst side of me loves that it's like watching ants from above. You get to see how

people are experiencing a story, reacting to stimuli you put in place. In intelligence, looking at

human patterns, I was fascinated by social hacking, using a person's belief systems to get what

you want. The real question with video games is that suspension of disbelief -- can I fool an

audience that thinks they're in control when they're really not?

Do you see any way the story of your own life has come full circle?

I was an intelligent, rebellious youth, but my grades and attendance records weren't the sole

indicators for my potential contribution to society. Ultimately, society suffers when we're that

myopic. When you look a little deeper, as people did with me, you're able to get kids focused on

their potential. A huge part of my company is focusing on teen mentoring for troubled youth.

That's something I owe to the people who helped me.

Entrepreneur Spotlight

Name: James Kosta

Company: 3G Studios Inc.

Age: 37

Location: Reno, Nev.

Founded: 2006

Employees: 47

2012 Projected Revenue: $10.5 million

Website: http://www.3gstudios.com/pages/home/

New Tools Emerge to Help Develop Facebook Pages By Tony Bradley, PCWorld Feb 15, 2011 9:06 AM

Businesses need Facebook Pages. The Facebook Page is replacing both blogs and

corporate Web sites as the primary means of engaging customers and promoting products

and services. The need to be unique and stand out from the crowd has given rise to new

products and services to help businesses design better Facebook Pages.

Creating a Facebook Page itself, is quite simple. Just go to the Facebook "Create a

Page" section and follow the prompts. The tricky part is tweaking and customizing it to

make it more appealing, or to promote specific products and services.

Facebook has its own flavor of HTML called FBML--Facebook Markup Language.

The Static FBML app lets companies add custom tabs to the Facebook Page. I used the

FBML app to create the Welcome! And Buy My Books tabs on my Facebook Page. With a

little HTML--or FBML as the case may be--skill, a business can use Static FBML to create

dynamic, eye-catching tabs for a Facebook Page.

For those who like a more user-friendly, no coding necessary, plug and play solution, there

is Shortstack. Developed by Pancake Laboratories--hence the clever name--Shortstack

provides an easy to use, affordable tool enabling businesses to create custom tabs for

Facebook Business pages.

A spokesperson for Pancake Laboratories commented, "Facebook has become a key

advertising, communication, and engagement tool for companies ranging from your mom-

and-pop corner store in Bismark, North Dakota, to Nike and Victoria's Secret. Capturing an

audience and keeping engaged on Facebook business pages is a task not easily

accomplished, even for knowledgeable and experienced agencies handling social media

outreach."

Ad agencies and Web developers can get in on the action as well. FaceItPages offers a

turn-key custom Facebook solution. The FaceItPages White Label option works for Web

site creation services, hosting services, or marketing services, interested in offering

Facebook Page customization seamlessly integrated into their existing product offerings.

Companies should step back and take some time to understand the benefits and limitations

of a Facebook Page, though, rather than just throwing stuff at the wall to see what sticks.

Perhaps you remember when the World Wide Web was in its infancy, and every business

had to scramble to buy a .COM domain. Then, they'd throw up a Web site with little idea of

what to with it, and even less idea why. Then, we did the whole thing over again when

companies felt compelled to start blogs, or jump on the MySpace.com bandwagon.

Facebook Pages are the next essential medium for engaging customers, and businesses

do need to embrace them and get on board. But, it should be done in a way that shows an

understanding of social media and not just blasting the same marketing slogans.