Will Speaking

Check out Om Malik interview of Jeff Bezo's at D6 Conference here .    It's a quick discussion on Amazon's Web Services (why did they go into the software service business,  and what's next).   Tags: jeff bezo , amazon.com , d6 , gigaom , om malik , willspeaking , willspeaking.com

This is one of my favorite lessons or stories from Zig Ziglar.  I listened to this a lot on the CDs.  Essentially it means - you get out, what you put in. In this clip, you see an old fashioned water pump that Mr Ziglar used to carry cross country on flights with him, until 9/11.      It's a great lesson, and told in his normal energetic speed. Tags: zig ziglar , prime the pump , ziglar.com , willspeaking , willspeaking.com

I attended a 2 day workshop on Product Management last week .  Led by Marty Cagan,  it was a great refresher, and gave some great insights into creating great products.  Mr Cagan worked at HP, Netscape, AOL, and eBay in various positions.   I did not know him directly at Netscape or AOL though.          I'd met with several CEOs at startups in the past few weeks who all mentioned Marty Cagan and the product help he has given to the companies, so thought I'd attend this workshop. The 2 day workshop was very good and  inspiring.   I'd recommend it for companies too, and send my Product, Engineering and UI teams to it.     The cost is $1500 per person,  and is a good investment.  Marty has a book that covers much of the content of the workshop - it's on Amazon.com.  It's an easy read, so check it out. Review the book on Amazon.com. Silicon Valley Product Group Tags: ...

If for no other reason,  I'd use myAOL simply for the Gas Price Widget .    Not even My Yahoo! has such a widget.     Very cool, little widget - also topical and sticky (people love to find a bargain). Get it on the iPhone as a myAOL iPhone special, and it will be even better. Tags: willspeaking , willspeaking.com , gas prices aoljurlAdd , aoljurlAdd_1

At the D6 Conference tonight, they showed the "goodbye video" for Bill Gates. It was shown earlier in the year (I think at CES).  It's pretty funny. It must be quite an emotional day, to leave Microsoft. Tags: bill gates , last day , microsoft , willspeaking , willspeaking.com

From the News at Ten "And Finally" segment, a report on what has been found on Mars. It looks a little like an alien.    Fans of Sir Patrick Moore will see him in this clip (and those who don't know him, he's a little eccentric and totally british). Tags: willspeaking.com , willspeaking , itn , mars , news at ten , and finally

The Perlmutter team - Keren Perlmutter and Sharon Perlmutter - are the duo behind a new photo product named " Face to Face ".  It's a client application that can help you find photos but based on face, not just plain old searching.      You know what it feels like to search and search and search for photos... This app will let you organize by face. All those pictures of Uncle Albert can be found very quickly! Face to Face is fun to use... It has a nice, inviting UI, and scans in photos fast.  It is really good to see this innovative, fun product launched.   Congrats to Keren, Sharon and the team! Download it from here. Tags: willspeaking , willspeaking.com , face to face , bluestring.com , bluestring , innovation ,...

I arrived home tonight (after a great class in Cupertino - more on that another post) and got my mail, and opened it.  Well, I opened the one from CCF ( Christian Children's Fund ) from Honduras...  It was a letter from the child I had sponsored, and it was the "farewell" letter. Ever got a letter you didn't expect, and stopped you in your tracks?  This one stopped me, a few tears and a smile.     When I moved to the USA in 1992, I saw one of those commercials for CCF (the one with the man with the beard, looking very sorry - it still runs today).   Something gave me the urge to sponsor a kid who was less fortunate, and I've done it ever since.  The odd letter is exchanged too on progress (school grades,  living conditions etc).     The farewell letter came because "Melvin" had turned 19.   I never met Melvin or his sisters, brothers or Mum and Dad.  But I like to think that every little thing helps. ...

Zig Ziglar, at the age of 80, continues to motivate, enginergize, have tremondous passion and energy.  Here's a video-cast from ziglar.com. "what's the most important thing as you turn 80 years old", "to turn 81!" Tags: zig ziglar , willspeaking.com , life lessons from zig ziglar , ziglar.com , willspeaking

Three interesting web sites, that each offer value. Blurb.com add's a new twist for authors. It allows you to create your own book - just one or as many as you like.   You can then sell them on the Blurb bookshop (and in many places). It's an awesome site that allows you to create books - visual and welcoming.How many people out there are authors that don't know how to get published.   Check out this cookbook, an example of many books. Popjax.com is a game site - for folks that like game shows. You can win prizes. It has been put together very well, and uses Youtube videos as a basis for an interactive game. E.g. 80's trivia, Movie trivia...    This one has a lot of potential, since many games on the net are aimed at true gamers, not people who love the price is right.  Tripiit.com will help you organize your travel - keep up with your travel plans.   It works like this: book a trip, send the itinerary to tripit, and it will organiz...

What a hot day we had today. As I was driving back from meeting with recruiters, I snapped this. Don't worry, it is ok. It was hot, and traffic moved slowly on highway 85. I also was not applying make up, speaking on the phone, or video taping. So I could snap this - 100 degrees! Yeah! Tags: willspeaking , willspeaking.com , hot , weather , driving

Frank Gruber asks how Friend Connect can help users. I don't see a clear end user benefit yet, but will look into it a bit more.  I can see a benefit for website builders though. What do you think? http://www.somewhatfrank.com/2008/05/how-does-google.html Tags: willspeaking , willspeaking.com , somewhatfrank , friend connect , frank gruber

Here in Santa Cruz we have a new store named Cereality . Yes, that's right - a cafe bar that serves cereal. It is really interesting way to get your cereal and not just for breakfast. You can also make your own cereal box. Interesting concept.  The place is fun with cereal as art on the walls. Time for you to visit Santa Cruz. Tags: willspeaking , willspeaking.com , santa cruz , cereal , cereality aoljurlAdd , aoljurlAdd_1

An interesting read, especially the comments others have written. http://gigaom.com/2008/05/09/the-5-stages-of-a-consumer-web-startup/#comments Tags: willspeaking , willspeaking.com , startups , gigaom

Lots of discussion on Yahoo | Microsoft this week. Michael Arrington (of techcrunch) appears again on Charlie Rose.   This time speaking about Yahoo and Microsoft, much in the news.  Of course, we don't / won't really know what will happen here. But it doesn't stop us all thinking and chatting about this. I have watched quite a bit of Charlie Rose, and IMO he is a great interviewer. Tags: yahoo , microsoft , charlie rose , willspeaking , willspeaking.com

The community of bloggers on this platform amazes me... Right now, the " magic smoke " blog has been opened, so anyone can write a blog post. For those of you who have no idea what this blog is, up until recent times it was used to blog about the blogging software (features, outages, answer questions, guest bloggers).  Now it is open to all. And the community steps up , and blogs on various things.  Each week they have something very funny yet very simple called " Guess the Caption ".      It is fun - you submit a picture, captions and vote.    What is really good is people contributing, commenting, answering polls,   coming together. Community = Engaging = People = Interaction.     Wonderful to see. Tags: magic smoke , caption , willspeaking , willspeaking.com

I was at a very large Antique Fair yesterday and stumbled across this...   Not an antique, but on people's minds! And the price tag was a lot cheaper than the deal. Tags: yahoo , microsoft , alemda , willspeaking

Reminder that once again you can walk or run in the Human Race of Silicon Valley. It takes place at the Google campus on May 10th. http://www.vcsv.us/humanrace/ If you are in Santa Cruz, you can also join in and run on West Cliff in the Human Race Santa Cruz. Have fun!  http://humanracesantacruz.kintera.org/ Tags: human race , volunteer , silicon valley , santa cruz , willspeaking