“Oblong Industries is the developer of the g-speak spatial operating environment.”

Seriously! Spacial operating systems? Awesome…

http://oblong.com/

So my birthday was last week. It was one of those birthdays that could have gone either way. You know “Hell yeah I’m young” or “Holy crap I’m getting old” (Fortunately I think I still have a couple years on this one). In any case it ended up being a completely disastrous adventure on which I had a blast! I was one of those weekends where you set out to do something and end up halfway across the state with a broken down car, pissed off waitresses, and a huge grin!

While I was on my great adventure I found myself with the strangest sensation, my iPhone wasn’t able to send out e-mails. Thus; leaving me quite disconnected from the rest of the world (Believe me not being able to hop on eSwarm every day is a challenge). At that moment it was like a tidal wave of memories from the endless progression of technology that has dominated my experience. Now, don’t get me wrong, I am not arguing against technology overload, I was pissed that my iPhone didn’t work. I love technology. Love it! Let’s just say, while my girlfriend keeps trying to get me to go camping, I keep suggesting a trip to downtown Tokyo!

Remember this little beauty. This was the exact model of the first computer I ever owned. Myself, not my folks, just me. Look at that keyboard, just waiting to be touched. For those that don’t recognize it, this is the original Apple II plus. This computer needed a disk just to start-up (and not one of those pussy zip drives, I’m talking those 5 ½ inch floppies that you could have used to play Frisbee with your dog). She was a beauty.

At the time, my mom had a step up from me: the Apple IIe:

Never touched the thing (wasn’t allowed to =P), but admiring it from afar was certainly a treat!

Looking back now, that ‘II plus’ was the shit! I could like, word process and play “Beyond Zork” (Awesome game btw).

A birthday or so later, my mom upgraded, this time I was allowed to touch it. I remember it was quite possibly the coolest thing I had ever seen, the glorious Apple IIgs:

That computer gave me a wonderful gift… it was the first time I ever played a video game… Guess which one?

Pacman? WRONG.

Kings Quest (which quite possibly was the original release of EverQuest… worth some research):

(Holy crap, while searching for this video I found that you can still download it, totally playing that tonight)
(Also see space quest)

I have to say though; it wasn’t until a couple years later that I found my true love…

The glorious Macintosh Classic II. (Again my Mom got jipped because she got the Macintosh Classic about a year before my Classic II… totally pwned). This computer rocked. It rocked so much I still miss it sometimes. Ironically, in High School I literally used a few of these as goal markers for an indoor hockey game.

About now I should probably start talking about the internet. Although I did go through a series of computers during the next couple years but the one I did most of my early internet usage on was the Mac IIsi:

Oh and in case you’re wondering, my folks did buy all theirs, but I got in good with the computer teacher at my schools, and went to both junior high and high school in Boulder County, which as you may know was a testing district for computers in education, so I got a lot of kick downs and ground scores…Except for the IIsi that was a gift from my parents)

Who remembers 2400 bps modems? Dude… I remember when my 14.4 kbps modem was the f’ing shit!

(The 28.8 kbps and 56.4 kbps looked pretty much exactly the same)

Now I know this post really isn’t point out any new information, or deep insights onto the cultural advancement of communications technology. Or giving really any detailed information about anything except my own meandering experience… it’s my birthday, whooooooo! If you’ve stuck around this far, you probably either know me, or want to. In either case, you rock!

Back before a visual internet was really popular, you would access various servers with a text based client. Telnet in particular. Now, we have all sorts of various programs to access servers, but Telnet was really one of the first. Man, at the time this was huge, I mean HUGE . Logging in to BBS’s, Online Games, Peer to Peer comunication (now called instant messaging).

So who remembers “Talk” … or even better “YTalk”? This had to be by far the coolest thing mankind had ever invented at the time. So you know how you have IM’s and Facebook chat, and Twitter… Well let me tell you, they all originate from Ytalk:

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk_%28software%29)

You could talk to your friends, in real time, all at once, online… wicked!

How about Gopher? Anyone remember that one. For me, it was like the original free version of Google books. You could search for any title (which they had hand typed in) and read it, right there on the screen…. Sweet!

I think for me though, the true revelation of the internet came when I first opened up Lynx. Imagine Internet Explorer with no images, color, or use of the mouse, and you have Lynx. Needless to say, this little gem of a program got me in a lot of trouble.

(This is what Wikipedia looks like on Lynx … courtesy of… Wikipedia!!!)

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Lynx-wikipedia.png)

When I finally laid my hands on “Mosaic” I was well into my adventures into web development. I had actually already made my first dollars online with an e-mail marketing campaign… Mosaic was AWESOME! If it still existed I would probably still use it (that’s a lie but we can pretend).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mosaic_(web_browser)

After that it pretty much all becomes a blur of different computers, systems, programs, peripherals, and all those goodies. Now for my moment of inspiration: Next time you are sitting there updating your Facebook page. Watching the latest movie on your 10” laptop…that is still in theaters (cough cough…) or tweeting about how you just toasted a whole loaf of bread… remember this: I may not be that young, you may not be that old, but in our lives, we have seen a greater level of technological advancement than any 100 lives combined as little as 60 year ago… These days, working at eSwarm, being a part of something as groundbreaking as each of those progressions I have mentioned, I can’t help but look back at each of those steps and nostaglizing. (Yeah that’s right, I made that up, nostalgizing, awesome word btw)

I have to tell you, while I was sitting at a dilapidated gas station, with a broken down car, on my birthday adventure, playing monopoly on my iPhone, I was reminded of a quote that is by far from my favorite text ever written:

“This is our world now, the world of the electron and the switch, the beauty of the baud!” – ++The Mentor++

What a bogus statement.

The sad thing about this particular saying is that it always comes when you’ve failed at something and are trying to justify that failure. You never hear “Yeah I nailed it, we got that shit done! That the best I can do!” It’s always “Sorry… I gave it my all, that’s the best I can do”.

First of all, that isn’t the best you can do. It may be the best you can do right now, in that situation, but ever? Total? That’s it, that’s all you got? Bullshit.

By making that statement you are in-essence saying, there is no way, at all, that I could do better.

So check it out… I can’t cook… at one point I actually burned lettuce. Really? Really! I watched Iron Chef once and gave it a shot… ended up feeding it to the puppies who actually wouldn’t eat it either. I suck at cooking; my brain isn’t wired to understand taste combinations. Yeah I can follow recipes and whatnot but on the fly… I blow… but I guarantee that is not the best I can do. If I spent time, and I kept at throwing stuff together I would get better, even if it’s a little bit at a time.

Ok that’s not a rock solid example… but you get the idea.

In no situation I can think of… not science, not math, not sports, not art, do I come across a example where someone can cop out with “I did my best”

I’m sure I’ll get some people saying… “What about physical ability like singing… what if my voice just sucks”. Look I’m not saying you’ll be the best in the world at something… although you probably can if you go after it hard enough, I’m saying that you, against yourself, can always do better. It may take you a long time, it may require a huge amount of work… but believe me that is not the best you can do.

For those who are reading this that know me. If you ever hear me say “That’s the best I can do” or any variation “I gave it my all” without adding the modifier “right now”. Then shut me up and put me in my place, because in my book… the best I can do isn’t what I just did.

eSwarm – There is nothing like launching a new website. I’ve been through more than my fair share of website launches and I have to tell you when you hit that sweet spot and put out something that has the potential to be supremely powerful it’s unlike any other feeling. There is something about the atmosphere with the people who you worked with to put everything together that is truly mind-blowing (…and I’m a magician so I don’t use that word lightly.)

eSwarm is backed by one of the greatest teams on the planet and is undoubtedly going to be a full on game changer. For my part, I have to say not only am I honored to be a part of this team with the guys on it, but I have I had a blast working on it and have seen its potential. As we speak I am overwhelmed by excitement to share it with the world.

Here is the gist:
eSwarm provides its users the most simple and easy to use piece of technology that allows friends and other like-minded people to have conversations that matter.

With the internet developing the way it has over the last 3-4 years, I’ve personally experienced how difficult it can be to maintain quick and simple conversations online. Forums are antiquated, most other sites are single topic or even massively unorganized. Sometimes I feel like my online interactions are simply a static noise of on-liners or one-way dialogue.

eSwarm is the ultimate solution to that…

So here is the low-down:

About eSwarm:
Welcome to eSwarm!  Based out of Boulder, CO, eSwarm has built, and will continue to develop, the world’s simplest technology that allows you, your friends, and other like-minded people everywhere to have conversations that matter in real time.  eSwarm improves and better organizes what forums and other social networking technologies are already doing. Enjoy using eSwarm and Contact us if you have any questions!  Happy Swarming!

What is the story behind eSwarm?
Back in 2004, the eSwarm co-founders moved to Palo Alto, CA and started researching the fundamentals behind swarm theories in nature, and why swarms are so powerful.  One key fundamental is that solutions are distributed to swarms automatically and without centralized control, simply in how swarmer’s interact.  Whether it is fish swarming to avoid a predator, or when birds or ants swarm to feed or protect themselves, in nature there is always “strength in numbers”.  We realized that people, too, are swarming in many aspects of our lives so we decided to build a website that would harness the human potential of swarming.  The co-founders of eSwarm realized there was no technology on the Internet that could tap into the potential of swarm theory so that people could benefit from “swarming”. Ever since, the eSwarm team has been on a mission to build the world’s most simple and organized communications technology on the Internet.

What is a Swarm?
A swarm is a group of friends and other like-minded people having a conversation that matters.  Swarms mimic human behavior.  Like many conversations, some swarms start because they are simply looking to talk about a topic or interest.  Other swarms start for a very specific reason, like to influence something to happen.  Conversations on eSwarm give you a voice on the world’s best public sounding board.

How do I use eSwarm?
Register a free account within 30 seconds by clicking “register” in the top right corner.  After you register, start a conversation and invite your friends.  If you don’t want to start a conversation, then just join an existing conversation with other like-minded people by browsing the topics you are interested in.  If there is a conversation that interests you, then click the corresponding link for it.  When you see where it says, “What do you think?” make a post and join the conversation.  Follow what your friends-and other people of interest to you- are saying on your profile page.

Why do people love eSwarm?
Simplicity and Organization.  eSwarm management has spent years researching how to take what people are already doing on forums and other social networking sites and make it better.  The result is eSwarm.com, the best place to connect with friends and other people of like-minded interest.  Not only is eSwarm.com a great communications technology, but it is a public sounding board for people who wish to have a voice in conversations that matter.

Check it out, you won’t be disappointed.

eSwarm
www.eswarm.com

Recent Press:

eSwarm -
Twitter trying your patience? Join the eSwarm instead

http://blogs.westword.com/latestword/2009/08/twitter_trying_your_patience_j.php

eSwarm -
5 QUESTIONS for Matt Etlinger, co-founder eSwarm

http://www.dailycamera.com/news/2009/aug/10/5-questions-for-matt-etlinger-co-founder-eswarm/

eSwarm developing one-stop social network

http://www.bcbr.com/article.asp?id=101580

Funny story actually. A few weeks ago I stopped in at a popular gas station chain on my way home. I grabbed my daily iced tea and headed to the counter. Posted right there on plain paper, taped down with big green lettering, was an advertisement for a car wash coupon book. It read something like:

Amazing Car Wash Deal
1 free car wash when you purchase a car wash coupon book
$35.00
1 Coupon for a free car wash.
5 premium car washes.
2 economy car washes

So I ask the guy out of curiosity. “Do you sell a lot of those coupon books?” He tells me that he has only sold one in the last year and a half of working there. Now this was a younger guy, I think I recall at one of my previous pit stops him hinting at, or flat out saying, that he was bored out of his mind. Most likely that was just a side job for him while he is in school or something. Anyway, I looked at this kid and said “Now I doubt you care about this, but that advertisement blows. People don’t give a crap about features when it comes to a service, at least that’s not what will sell them; try something along the lines of:

Don’t wait for the next rain… get a FREE car wash NOW when you need it.

Not only will you get:
5 Premium car washes, useable at any of our stores, any time.
2 Economy car washes for when you just want a quick rinse.

But you also get a completely FREE premium car wash!!

Perfect for getting those after-rain splotches off or cleaning those bird “accidents”
When you need it! No waiting in line!

All for only $35.00,
A $5 dollar savings even before the FREE wash.

Maybe it will earn you a few points with your boss”. Marketing 101… The kid kind of shrugged, I had no idea if he even listened to a word I said, so I laughed and took off.

Now I don’t know if that particular ad was implemented as a chain wide campaign (which I would bet), or if the particular store managers created the ads (unlikely), I was just amazed whoever it was actually thought it would work.

Tonight, after an awesome dinner with our team, I stopped in again… same kid behind the counter. First thing I noticed when I hit the counter was the ad had changed to a close variation of what I suggested, emphasizing the benefits rather than the features, obviously what the kid had remembered from what I said. First thing he said to me was “Dude, I put this new ad up 2 weeks ago and since we’ve sold 13 of those coupon books”. I have to admit, it took quite a bit of self control not to bust out laughing. All I could think was ‘Man, the XXXXXX marketing guys wouldn’t make it a day at eSwarm’. Needless to say, I got my iced tea free along with a Kit-Kat bar and a 5-hour energy. Totally worth it! I asked the kid if he got promoted or something, sadly to say, it seems like they didn’t care.

The moral, I think, of this story is, the basics of e-mail marketing, affiliate programs, and PPC can most definitely be applied to national chain advertisements (and in produce better results). That coupled with working day in and day out with an extremely driven, successful, and all out brilliant team makes that kind of stuff seem “JV”.

Imagine this scenario:



You just tossed up a brand new eCommerce website selling physical products. You spent a good amount of money developing it and it looks great. It was built by a developer who had SEO training, so you are pretty confident that it employs all the best practices. You’re selling a product with a reasonably high profit margin and you are all set to open your doors. At your first marketing meeting, you and your team sit down to decide where to spend your budget. Now, for the big questions! Where does it go? What are our best options?

Ok, you’re convinced, SEO and PPC. As your getting ready to finalize your budget breakdown, your marketing director, out of the blue, drops the bomb. “What about we take 80% of the SEO budget and spend it on social marketing?”…

Now, I don’t know how many of you remember the early “golden” years of the internet. I’m talking about back around 1998 when the web really was golden. Where all it took was a few weeks of time, a decent idea, and an e-mail account and you could set yourself up with a guaranteed cash flow pouring into your merchant account. Well, our business owner friend in that scenario, whether he knows it or not, was just proposed an opportunity that can certainly be compared to the “golden” days.

I have to admit, it took me a little bit of convincing to believe that social networking and other social media could really create such an incredible chance to grow a business. Don’t get me wrong, the idea that groups forming around specific topics and likeminded people coming together to share content, logically sounds like a perfect way to hone marketing to specific demographics. I mean, think back, when has there been such an easily accessible means of pushing your product or service in front of the eyes of potential customers who you know, without a doubt, are interested in some way? The need for convincing came when I had to think about sacrificing funding for other, more proven, marketing efforts.

So what did I do…. research…, well that’s not true, I had some of my team do the research, but the idea stands and let me tell you, I’ve had rocks hurled at my head that hit me with less force than what I was shown.


Let me give you a quick kick yourself….

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