Monthly Archive for January, 2010

A SHIFT in New York

Published on 1/29/2010 in Marketing Begins At Home Video Club and NextNY. Comments

DSC_0090, originally uploaded by david parmet.

Last night I joined a gaggle of New York’s most digital in welcoming SHIFT Communications to New York.

Here’s an interview with a obviously delighted Todd Defren who clearly believes New York is ready for SHIFT’s brand of social media savvy:

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I Shoot The Moon

Published on 1/22/2010 in Photography. Comments

moon, originally uploaded by david parmet.

My first attempt at astrophotography.

Basically I attach my D80 to the back of an LX200 using a special adapter and *presto* the telescope becomes a super telephoto with a 2500 mm focal length. This is actually three images combined into one so I could get the whole of the Moon into one frame.

I’ll put up a cleaner version tomorrow.

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Old School With A Slide Rule

Published on 1/15/2010 in Photography and Profound Thoughts. Comments

originally uploaded by david parmet.

Dad says that anyone who can’t use a slide rule is a cultural illiterate and should not be allowed to vote. Mine is a beauty – a K&E 20-inch Log-log Duplex Decitrig

Have Space Suit – Will Travel 1958. by Robert A. Heinlein (1907-1988)

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The Social Media Crack House

Published on 1/11/2010 in Stating the Obvious. Comments

Sue and I spent Saturday night at the Roger Smith in Manhattan. I was the winner of the “impress us with your haiku” contest and the room was our reward.

While sitting at the bar, we met Brian. Sue offered him an idea for the next give-away, which he promptly used. And on Sunday morning we ran into Howard Greenstein who was on his way to meet with Aliza Sherman who I didn’t even know was in town.

All of which prompted Sue to observe that this was all getting a bit comfy.

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Zagat Vs. Yelp

Published on 1/7/2010 in Profound Thoughts. Comments

Image by Stuck in Customs via Flickr

In the world of restaurant reviews I’m squarely in the Zagat demographic. Moderately affluant suburban married spends time in major urban center dines out… you know the type.

But yesterday, while out to lunch with a couple of my moderately affluent suburban marrieds who spend time in major urban centers, we realized that despite the ‘Reviewed in Zagat’ sticker on the restaurant’s front window, none of us have even considered consulting the little black book in ages. I’m pretty sure I haven’t even owned a copy since 2002 or thereabouts.

What has happened is that as more and more of my friends and neighbors are using smart phones for play in addition to work, they are relying on location aware services like Yelp to find a place to eat. Not because Yelp’s reviews are more or less reliable than the competition, but because they are available easily at the push of a button.

Simply put, Yelp has a free app and Zagat is behind a pay wall. The sense of participation that Yelp offers is icing on the cake for my more opinionated neighbors. The sense of community that comes from the social networking aspects of group reviews is also a neat value add.

Once again, free and open wins out over pay walls and closed gardens.

And please don’t forget to friend me on Yelp.

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