I am sure he will be a little jet lagged this week, but we are glad he's here and can't wait to see how he will help eyespeak move forward.  Currently Lars doesn't have a permanent desk at the office…but after tomorrow's big announcement he will!  (Nice how that works!)

Thanks a bunch Lars for your hard work in Europe!  Benj, Jason, and I promise to cure you of your vegetarianism very soon.

Unlike most other workout programs, this game endeavors to change the way you live as opposed to just help you lose weight, increase fitness, or fit into that old pair of pants.  Saint "Day" Adeogba created this innovative approach after years of being frustrated that clients stopped coming for training once their goals were met.

So, he decided to make fitness a game.  A game that causes you to work toward balance in your whole life as opposed to only your fitness.  It is through this game that people will finally be able to take control of their health and well-being.  We will be posting a link shortly to the blog for this game!

So, we can't wait to lose a part of our team!

Next week we are going to be revealing some really exciting news about eyespeak…you will want to stay tuned…trust me.  I can't say anything today…I can only leave you with suspense.

Happy Friday.

What about you?  Where would you go this weekend?

It seems to me like Google has just been playing it safe lately. They used to take risks and push the boundaries and now it seems they are content to buy up proven technologies and ideas instead of continuing to innovate. In my eyes this is a direct result of being a publicly traded company.

As a publicly traded company your goal is to maximize shareholder value. Prior to this, Google seemed to have the goal of having the most innovative products. So, can the two sides co-exist?

So, do you think that Google is a sell-out corporation now? Can they regain their innovative mojo? (I hope so.)

Here is our list of the Top Ten Words we hear almost once a week that we feel have absolutely no meaning:

1. Next Generation
2. Web 2.0
3. Clean Lines
4. Pop
5. Relevant
6. Thought Leader
7. Modern
8. Interactive
9. Fresh
10. Minimalistic

Agree?/Disagree?  What words have lost their meaning for you?

The Reuters story mentions this clip on YouTube of a technician fast asleep on the couch at a customer’s home while waiting for someone at corporate to answer his call:

We agree that Comcast probably needs a new brand, however, unless they address the root problems that cause their bad reputation a new brand will be a waste of money.  Already many people are skeptical (including me) about this rebrand.  Time will tell, but it would have been nice for the company to roll out the new brand with this statement:

“Over the past several years, Comcast has failed to provide the high quality customer service and customer experience we promised to deliver.  Our 4 hour service windows were routinely missed, our customer service hold-times were unnecessarily long, and our television, internet, and phone services were not the cutting edge products that we promised them to be.

On behalf of the management of Comcast, I would like to apologize to our customers, former customers, employees, independent contractors, and shareholders for our failing.  We have no one to blame but ourselves.

It is in response to these failures that today Comcast announces a rebranding effort called “Xfinity”.  It is our pledge that over the next several months Xfinity will begin to correct the mistakes of the past as we look to the future.

Our aim is to have the highest customer service satisfaction rating for all entertainment providers, the best on-time installation and repair record, and an average hold time of under 5 minutes for customer service calls.  I cannot assure you that these issues will be corrected immediately, it is our aim to meet and sustain these goals by January 1, 2011.”

That didn’t happen.  I am afraid that without addressing these issues head-on, the rebranding effort will simply be window dressing and the root issues that plague Comcast will not be addressed; but simply repackaged.

Slow Fade to Black

Much like a cancer that slowly eats away at good cells undetected for a while, new forms of communication are slowly but surely eroding email’s efficacy.  Email was originally seen as a faster and less expensive way to communicate ideas with each other.  Families and businesses could send messages to each other in the blink of an eye.  Then came Instant Messaging, where you could have a private real-time chat with another person.

Now we have Facebook and Twitter, where each platform allows for private messaging that is accessible anywhere at anytime.  Relegating email to an efficient way to transfer files.

The Future

As email begins its slow fade out newer forms of communication are beginning to take its place.  Now more than ever I have noticed a shift in the way I receive messages from friends.  More often I will receive a tweet or Facebook post from a friend that wants to communicate something to me.  A Facebook Message, text message, or Direct Message on Twitter has replaced most of my email communication for private messages.  Email is simply a tool for me to transfer files to people that do not use Google Docs.

You’ve Got Mail

I communicate with my grandparents via telephone and snail mail.  This does not bother me because I know they are uninterested in computers and it was tough to teach them how to use the answering machine.

I think email will be moving to this stage soon.  A way to communicate with those unable or uninterested in social media or cloud computing.  With the advent of intra-company chat platforms that allow secure file transfer, Social media sites with their own messaging systems (ChurchCrunch has a great article on this yesterday.  What a coincidence!  Great minds think alike), and a greater acceptance of cloud computing; it is a matter of time before email dies.

What do you think?  Is email dying?  What can replace it?

Photo by Pepo