tomanthonydotcom blog

The Art of Networking

2011-09-02T10:14:00.000-04:00

A business associate of mine sent this excellent piece he had written on the Art of Networking. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

The Art of Networking
Bill Boyer

In today’s business world there are many ways that companies can market their products and services. Almost daily there are new techniques using the internet. First, there were web sites, now there are the automated newsletters and the most recent are blogs. Effective management of the tools in the various search engines can bring a company much exposure. Emailing has now become much more complex with the introduction of the opt-in and opt-out rules.

But there is one very old and proven method that will never change. Many experts say is the most critical, especially in a local market. It is networking.

Many people consider networking a way to speed up the sales process. Networking is not selling: it is marketing. Again, networking is not selling, it is relationship building. It is a way to increase your visibility and develop credibility. You want to be sought out and referred.

At the typical networking event, it is rare to find an immediate customer, yet that is what we are all looking for. Even if the individual you are talking with is a potential customer, they probably are not going to ask you for a meeting to discuss potential sales at this time. They want an opportunity to know you better. Your goal in networking should be to get to know more people and build rapport with them.

Don’t just try to find out all you can about their business, get to know them as individuals. Find about their interests outside their business. Where have they gone on vacation or where do they plan to go? Whether they admit it or not, people enjoy talking about themselves. They appreciate the interest in them. This is not a chance for you to show off and prove how great you or your company is. Listen to them. You will get a lot of good information.

Concentrate on listening for information and messages that will allow you to be in a position to connect people. This is just not for business contacts; it can be for anything that comes up in the conversation. Giving good referrals is one of the best ways to establish credibility in a network. And when giving referrals, you should contact the party you are referring and let them know that they may be getting a call. Or find out if he person you have made the referral to would like to receive a call. Or have a three way meeting.

Generally, people are not going to refer you to their friends, customers or suppliers unless they consider you credible and trustworthy. You would not refer someone to an associate if you were unsure of their capability or credibility. After all, people do business with people they know, like, and trust.
Be sure to get business cards. Follow up with potential clients or referral partners to let them know it was good to meet. Your method of contact may be different for each networking group or individual, but staying in contact will maintain your visibility and will build credibility.

Also, you need to show up often. Contacts with potential clients come from establishing visibility and credibility and building relationships. It is much more important to visit the same networking groups often than it is to visit many various groups. You will need to decide which groups seem to fit your potential client base the best. Experts say that it takes on average eight contacts or touches before customers are ready to buy, or referral partners are ready to refer you. You need to periodically evaluate the results you are getting with each group. It must be looked at as an investment and if the return is not adequate to the time you are investing, you should find another networking group.

Where to network? There are many chamber groups, actual networking groups, seminars, association events and tradeshows. Also, volunteer for civic organizations-make connections. Learn to get information about people and their businesses.

Networking should not be the exclusive technique used. It should be supplemented with many of the others active methods: newsletters, presentations, meetings, association memberships, internet, etc.
Make networking a goal. Learn to get information about people and their businesses. Establish your credibility. Over the long term, you will probably find that networking is your most effective marketing tool.

Bill Boyer is the President of Tidewater CEO. He can be reached at bill@tidewaterceo.com or read Bill’s blog at http://tidewaterceo.wordpress.com/

The Green Lantern Girl

2011-06-13T09:06:00.000-04:00

This is a funny and cut video promotion we are conducting with Passion Fire Diamonds - great traffic through YouTube and quite entertaining to boot!

Americas Next Voice show offers spot to the homeless man with the golden...

2011-01-05T16:10:00.000-05:00

I did a fast turn around for Joe Cipriano with this Interview of the homeless man with the golden voice. Ted Williams of Columbus, Oho gained the nations attention when a YouTube video telling his story went viral. Amazing.

A Letter to Congressmen Randy Forbes

2010-11-29T16:13:00.004-05:00

Hi Randy!

First of all belated congratulations – I did show off my bumper sticker and signs were up in our families yard in Great bridge.

I got an interesting email from a friend of mine prompting persons to urge passage of a constitutional amendment regarding Congress exempting itself (members) from being governed by certain laws.

In part this friend pointed out that “members of Congress could retire with the same pay after only one term, that they specifically exempted themselves from many of the laws they have passed (such as being exempt from any fear of prosecution for sexual harassment) while ordinary citizens must live under those laws. The latest is to exempt themselves from the Healthcare. . . “

Now I am not sure those statements are entirely true but it does expose the feeling of many of my friends and family – that Senators and Congressmen have placed themselves above the law both in attitude and example. I could cite a dozen instances recently in the news, but perhaps Representative Charles Rangel of New York walking out of his ethics hearing and the probability that he faces no hard consequences as a result of what I believe could be criminal activities including tax evasion would be the best immediate example. If I or anyone I know did 10% of what Representative Rangel is accused of I am certain we would be in jail. It’s just not fair.

But I digress. . . The email from my friend went on to suggest a constitutional amendment described as follows:

Proposed 28th Amendment to the United States
Constitution: "Congress shall make no law that applies to the citizens of
the United States that does not apply equally to the Senators and/or
Representatives; and, Congress shall make no law that applies to the Senators
and/or Representatives that does not apply equally to the citizens of the
United States .."

Is this anything you have heard of? And if not, what could you recommend be done - I know once the freshman members have taken office there are plenty of important issues already on the table – but I feel this is also important.

Respectfully,

Tom Anthony

Protecting Yourself in a Technology Driven Society

2010-08-21T10:14:00.003-04:00

While the blogspot.com version of my blog is not updated as often as blog.tomanthony.com, I do still maintain this URL both as a link-back source and also to post (or in this case re-post) items of general interest.

In an August 20,2010 Newsletter from Congressman Randy Forbes aimed at seniors there were some excellent points raised. I re-post them here and thank Congressman Forbes for implied permission to do so.

As more people share personal info online, identity thieves are on the hunt. Many of these identity thieves are using new and creative ways to steal personal and private information from senior citizens and older adults. For many senior citizens and for those of us with aging parents, it can seem complicated to navigate the technology do's and don'ts of the 21st century – especially as technology changes each year.

A great deal of information, tools and experts are available to assist seniors in protecting their financial resources. Unfortunately, many individuals are not aware of these tools, or are unsure how to obtain them or best utilize each resource. With proper resources and the necessary tools, individuals can obtain the necessary documents and substantially reduce the risk of becoming a victim of identity theft or a scam. I have compiled the following list of 10 consumer tips and resources to successfully protect oneself in a technology driven society:

1. Know the warning signs. Most scams or fraud schemes use key words or phrases that allow you to distinguish it as a scam, if you are aware of them. The Federal Bureau of Investigation lists several of the characteristics to watch out for with telemarketing fraud, email scams, and other forms of fraud.
http://www.fbi.gov/majcases/fraud/fraudschemes.htm

2. Create a good password. Make sure you create a strong password for your email account and other online accounts. Use these Password Do's and Don'ts from the AARP, like combining capital and lower case letters and using unrelated words.
http://www.aarp.org/technology/privacy-security/info-2007/_keeping_secrets_.html

3. Properly report lost or stolen credit cards or debit cards. There are certain procedures you should follow to report a lost or stolen credit card that will help minimize the risk of identity theft or financial fraud. This information sheet from the FTC provides tips to keep your cards safe – like never carrying your PIN in your wallet or purse, cutting up old credit cards, and checking your account activity – and also provides steps to take if your card is lost or stolen.
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/credit/cre04.shtm

4. Beware of internet scams. Today, many of us pay our bills online or use credit cards when we shop on the Web. Sometimes scams come in the form of unsolicited emails or fake websites that are set up to look like these banking sites or shopping sites. This list from the Better Business Bureau provides information on the top five scams targeting seniors and older adults.
http://www.bbb.org/us/article/watch-out-for-common-scams-targeting-seniors-21083

5. Beware of cell phone scams. Scams targeting seniors and older adults are not limited to the internet. Scam artists can use technology to “clone” cell phone information so that the legitimate phone user receives a bill for the cloned phone's calls. It is important to regularly check your cell phone bill to look for erroneous phone calls. Find out more about cell phone scams with this information and tip sheet from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/cellphonefraud.html

6. Watch what you post. Social media sites like Facebook offer a great way to keep in touch with children, grandchildren and old friends you may have lost touch with. However, it is important to keep in mind that the information you put on these sites is not limited to those individuals. Unlike writing a personal letter, the information shared on sites like Facebook can be seen by many individuals, including those who are looking to harm seniors through identity theft. Don't post personal contact information, always check your privacy settings, and make sure you routinely change your passwords.

7. Know how to protect yourself from medical identity theft. Identity thieves often use personal and health insurance information to get medical treatment, prescription drugs or surgery. Like traditional identity theft, medical ID theft can affect your finances, but it also can take a toll on your health. Find out how to detect medical identity theft and learn what to do if you think you have been a victim of medical identity theft with this site at the Federal Trade Commission.
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/idtheft/idt10.shtm

8. Watch out for “phishing” emails. Phishing scams are delivered in the form of an email. They often appear as though they have been sent by your bank or credit card company, and they typically request personal information. The text of a “phishing” email might say: “We suspect an unauthorized transaction on your account. To ensure that your account is not compromised, please click the link below and confirm your identity.” The FTC suggests these eight tips to help you avoid getting hooked by a phishing scam.
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/alerts/alt127.shtm

9. Monitor your credit report. A credit report includes information on where you live, how you pay your bills, and whether you’ve been sued or arrested, or have filed for bankruptcy. It is important to monitor your report on a regular basis to watch for any suspicious activity. The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) requires each of the nationwide consumer reporting companies — Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion — to provide you with a free copy of your credit report, at your request, once every 12 months. To order, visit annualcreditreport.com, call 1-877-322-8228. Beware of imposter credit report sites. Annualcreditreport.com is the only authorized site to fulfill free credit reports.

10. Stay up-to-date on new scams and fraud alerts. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) website offers a list of current scams that have recently been reported. Check this site regularly or sign up to receive email updates of new scams and warnings. http://www.fbi.gov/cyberinvest/escams.htm

Top 25 Web Sites

2009-09-28T09:12:00.001-04:00

According to rankings.com here are the top 25 websites as of September 28, 2009

Rankings
Web Rank Domain Company Name
1 google.com Google
2 yahoo.com Yahoo! Inc.
3 facebook.com Facebook
4 youtube.com YouTube, Inc.
5 live.com N/A
6 msn.com Microsoft Corp
7 wikipedia.org Wikimedia Foundation
8 myspace.com MYSPACE.COM, INC
9 microsoft.com Micorsoft Corporation
10 ebay.com eBay, Inc.
11 aol.com GC
12 bing.com N/A
13 amazon.com Amazon.com
14 craigslist.org CRAIGSLIST, INC
15 ask.com Ask Jeeves, Inc.
16 twitter.com Twitter, Inc.
17 wordpress.com JDC Global Ventures LLC
18 go.com Walt Disney Internet Group
19 photobucket.com N/A
20 adobe.com Adobe Systems Incorporated
21 flickr.com FLICKR
22 cnn.com Turner Broadcasting
23 imdb.com The Internet Movie Database
24 about.com PRIMEDIA Inc.
25 bbc.co.uk N/A

The Vendor Client relationship

2009-08-14T13:16:00.002-04:00

I attended OMS Atlanta a few weeks ago and met Simms Jenkins who is the CEO of BrightWave Marketing. During a presentation he gave Simms shared a video with the group that was very relatable to any vendor of marketing services. Produced by Scofield Editorial, this video talks about what it’s like in the real world. Which character are you?

Secret Purchase In The Middle Of a Typhoon

2009-08-12T11:19:00.003-04:00

I just ordered something illegal to sell in the US. We’ll get to that in a second.

What started out as a routine online purchase suddenly illustrated in a personal way the global nature of Internet Commerce. While responding to my email confirming delivery address I realized the person sending the order was in the middle of Typhoon Morakot.

Hi,
Thank you very much for the reply.
Your order is ready for shipment but we cannot ship it today. There is a typhoon hitting our island Taiwan now. All post offices are closed. Your order will be shipped when the post offices open again on Monday. I apologize for the delay.
XXXXXXXXXXXXX is your tracking number.
package can be tracked thru USPS system after the package is cleared from US custom, usually 1 to 2 working days after its shipped date.
Your shipment takes 3 to 4 working days to arrive to you.

Thanks Jade!

Sorry about the typhoon – in Virginia USA and we get hurricanes – so I can appreciate the direct hit you just received. Good luck and thank you!
Tom Anthony

Dear Tom,

Thank you for the kind email. This typhoon brought terrible flood to southern Taiwan; you probably have seen that on the news already. We are in Taipei, not as bad.
Your order was shipped this morning Taiwan time at 8am, I just tracked your shipment from Taiwan EMS site, it should have been on a flight out already, but it’s not. I think the typhoon must have interrupted the flights also, lots of flights were canceled.

You should be able to track the shipment from usps by tomorrow, sometimes it takes a day or two for USPS to update their records for shipments from Taiwan.
Thank you again for purchasing from us, I will be here if you have any questions in the future. :))

Regards,
Jade

So The “item” landed in New York today…

Your item arrived in the United States in ISC NEW YORK NY(USPS) at 7:50 AM on August 12, 2009. Information, if available, is updated periodically throughout the day. Please check again later.
Detailed Results:

Inbound International Arrival, August 12, 2009, 7:50 am, ISC NEW YORK NY(USPS)

Origin Post is Preparing Shipment

Foreign International Dispatch, August 10, 2009, 5:08 pm, TAIPEI INT AMF, TAIWAN

Oh and what is the “Item”?? It’s not drugs, porn, or anything weird like that. But I’ll tell you when I get it

SWAC Girl: Will Mark Warner face Virginia citizens?

2009-08-07T11:45:00.000-04:00

SWAC Girl: Will Mark Warner face Virginia citizens?

My New Blog

2008-03-31T10:33:00.002-04:00

I have set up a more advanced blog at http://blog.tomanthony.com/ - this will act as an archive of my original posts.

Social Networks: useful or enormous Waste of Time?

2008-02-20T19:10:00.005-05:00

It’s been a bit of a roller coaster researching social networks. The process is the same for most of them. It’s a free account, and after you set it up you write a little profile. One of mine says it fairly succinctly: I am on a professional mission to question all things related to the business of the Internet and to the best of my ability explain it in plain language to anyone interested.

I kind of feel like Movie Critic Richard Roper – one of the guys on the TV show At The Movies. Sometimes he comments on how the movie he was reviewing was so bad it was painful to have to sit through, but that since his job is to review the film, he had to do it. That–s exactly how I felt by the time I got to the so called social network site called tagged dot com. That one really sucks.

But not all of them are like that, and some are important to understand. I was talking about this topic tonight with Marty Walser, one of my colleagues here at Web Teks. He pointed out something about social networks that gave the topic clarity I want to share. There is a big difference between a true social network site like facebook, or myspace and one of my new favorite sites; del.icio.us. Sites like MySpace share thoughts. Sites like del.icio.us or LinkedIn share information.

Digg is another example of a social networking site that is about gauging the popularity of something on the internet. It–s sort of like eavesdropping on what people are talking about around the water cooler. Mostly people look up inane and innocuous things, but when you see a trend evolving it could be an indicator of a change approaching. I guess you can say it–s the 21st century equivalent of our hunter gatherer ancestors listening closely to the dark. Most nights nothing happens, but you want to be ready if a beast approaches.

O.K. – Back to Marty. He cracks me up with some of his comments– Today he was doing a usability report on a client–s corporate portal. We often are asked to evaluate sites to let the client know what might be improved to make a site more user friendly. So today’s Marty Quote of the day “every new click is a mystery– but I can’t put that in a note to the client”.

Now that’s funny ;)

BTW my picture on MySpace is awful – and I have not taken enough time to figure out how to change it ;(

Web CEO - the Sharpest Bowling Ball in the Bag

2008-02-19T18:07:00.003-05:00

After reading the special offer email I considered trying a Search Engine Optimization tool called Web CEO. It had been quite a while since I looked at it, and it seemed not bad at the time, but not as good as one I already own and use called Web Position Gold. Well before I decided to download the Web CEO software I found this post... old yes... November 2005... but so relevant it was weird.
The person posting at Utter Bollocks http://www.utterbollocks.com/ reviewed the software and saved me a bunch of time.

Marty Quote of the day: Those guys at (deleted name of company) are not The Brightest Tools In the Shed I just love a good mixed metaphor. Another Marty ism ... He is not the Sharpest Bowling Ball in the Bag ;)

Web 2.0

2008-02-17T16:23:00.005-05:00

O.K., let’s start right here.

When you say Web 2.0 what the heck are you talking about? Social Networking. But unless you dive in a little bit that pretty much is the same as saying flux capacitor. If you know what it means it has a lot of relevance, if you don’t it just sounds like common words strung together for no particular reason. By the way Doc Brown used his flux capacitor to get Back To The Future.

My position as Vice President of an eBusiness company means I have to know what Web 2.0 means. Not just that; I have to be able to explain it to people. Our company (Web Teks) specializes in strategic planning of business Initiatives which have some Internet or web based component. My particular niche is in media with a deep background in broadcasting.

With broadband now widely available this turbo charged World Wide Web is like every person in the world with access to a computer having their own newspaper, Radio Station, and Television Channel all at the same time. So with the media background in my hip pocket I embark today on a mission to question all things related to the business of the Internet and to the best of my ability explain it to anyone interested. To that end I have blogged these notes in my personal blog, and my stumbled in blog.

Next out we’ll look at some important 2.0 sites like del.icio.us, Plaxo.com, Linkedin.com, and jigsaw.com. Stand by — I think (and hope) this is going to get pretty good ;)

Rogue Warrior

2008-01-17T11:08:00.000-05:00

Tom Anthony and Dick Marcinko

I wanted to take a second to let you know how frightening- no terrorizing a man Dick Marcinko is. Last night he spoke at the Virginia Beach Forum. I was very fortunate to have the chance to chat with Dick back stage for a few minutes, and of course personally he is a great person to talk to. He is also a very smart man. The freighting thing about Dick is not who he is, although he is the last person in the world you want to have as an enemy. The freighting thing was how he described with firsthand knowledge the extreme shortcomings of our national security. I picked up his book Rogue Warrior on the way to the show last night. It is an excellent book. Here is the link to Dicks bio and here is the short version printed on the Virginia Beach Forum web site:

You may know him as Demo Dick, Shark Man of the Delta, the author of the New York Times best-selling autobiography Rogue Warrior, the creator and commander of SEAL Team SIX, the U.S. Navy's first and only counter terrorism command, or as the host of talk radios America on Watch. However you know Dick Marcinko, you're going to be intrigued, entertained and maybe even a little provoked by his blunt take on national security, terrorism and the adaptation of modern technology.

OMG! All Online Data Lost After Internet Crash!!!

2008-01-11T08:34:00.000-05:00

Thanks to Tom Walker at Web Teks for pointing this out :)

Half of All Users Watch or Share Video

2008-01-10T13:01:00.001-05:00

I found an interesting statistic in Website Magazine today. According to the Pew Internet and American Life Project, 48 percent of Internet users have visited a video-sharing site like YouTube at least once to watch or post a video. That number is a giant leap from 33 percent in December 2006. They also state that 15 percent watch or post a video on a typical day, up from 8 percent last year.

A couple of interesting finds:

Men are more likely to have used a video-sharing site - 53 percent, compared to 43 percent of women.
70 percent of users under 30 have used the sites, compared to just 16 percent of those 65 and over.
About 25 percent of Americans have recorded video, and of those 14 percent have uploaded their videos - up from 4 percent in 2006.

Video production and uploading is getting easier every day. It has been a long time coming but speed (bandwidth) is finally not the huge hurdle it was when I first got into the Internet Business. Cool.

The Dream

2007-12-28T14:59:00.000-05:00

Tom Walker, President of Web Teks asked me to write a column for the upcoming January 2008 company newsletter. I really like the way it came out so I wanted to share it with you here on my personal blog.

The Dream

When I woke up this morning I was still thinking – how did it get to be 2008 already? Yet here we are reflecting on the past year and ever refining our respective visualization of what lies ahead.

An observation of the immediate future is to report on a movement in the world of commerce toward a more interconnected technological infrastructure. Most of our clients, regardless of the size of their company, already understand how the business process itself now physically extends to the public network through email and the World Wide Web. In a word, eBusiness. O.K. – that is not new.

What may be new to you is how evolving shopping patterns at brick and mortar locations and the increased technological participation of many major distributors and manufacturers is changing the landscape. Hold on – we are not talking about a bunch of new technology here – and by no means are we saying technology itself is the path to increase business. Jim Collins, author of the Book “Good to Great” says it this way; “Technology cannot make or break a company’s level of greatness, but only serves as an accelerator of greatness or demise already in progress”.

What we want to point out is that the maturing process of gathering and sharing data online is having a profound effect on the kind of projects we are asked to engage. Here is a case in point:

An automotive site we designed and maintain starts with data from Arkona, Inc. a company which provides a well known computer program that tracks, maintains, and reports on vehicle inventory. With some help from Web Teks this program feeds another service by Chrome Systems, Inc which provides extensive Manufacturer New Vehicle Data. Now combine what is actually on the lot with how it's equipped and how much it costs. Our programming goes to the next level and pulls out all the option and pricing logic needed to resolve option conflicts and package codes to manufacturer specifications and requirements.

Before your eyes glaze over – what you end up with is not the technology that makes it all work. Honestly – beside the guys who actually do the programming, who cares? What the customer gets in this case is their absolute dream car. They find exactly what they want – very quickly on the local car dealer’s website, and just as importantly, on the local car dealer’s lot, and all in real time. The result: an exponential increase in local sales from folks shopping on the internet. Like many of you, they know you don’t have to be an engineer to recognize that people shop on the internet before they visit your business location – no matter how many locations you have. So regardless of how it’s done, what the business owner can focus on is making the sale, not how the web site works.

That’s where Web Teks finds itself going in 2008. We don’t build web sites. We help our customers develop strategies to increase sales or decrease expenses. Then we build the technology to make it happen. We don’t make the dream car – we make it easier to have the dream.

Note to Bill O’Reilly

2007-04-14T11:02:00.000-04:00

O’Reilly,
I have been following the local reaction to the senseless death of two local girls at the hands of a drunk illegal alien, and it is simply amazing. Instead of looking for justice for the families, our local press seems to engage in subterfuge, misdirecting citizens toward you and away from the facts. Here is a link to an unbelievable story that appears in today’s Virginian Pilot, followed by my editorial comments to the paper.

Respectfully,

Tom Anthony
Virginia Beach

http://content.hamptonroads.com/story.cfm?story=122859&ran=181292

Unbelievably Irresponsible

If Mayor Meyera actually compared Bill O’Reilly to Adolph Hitler as directly as implied in this story she should be ashamed of herself. My first observation is that there is not actually a quote symbol (“quote”) around that specific comment connecting Bill O’Reilly to Nazis, so is this lovely sentiment injected by the story author Tony Germanotta?

My second observation asks why this relatively long piece appears in the life style section of the paper? Are two dead teen age girls a life style issue? Finally I would add an opinion that this story is subterfuge, misleading the reader to believe that Bill O’Reilly is hammering Mayor Meyera and Virginia Beach Police Chief Jake Jacocks Jr. personally. I believe O’Reilly is correctly pointing out that there are two dead teenagers in Virginia Beach as a direct result of a misguided and harmful city policy.

Isn’t it time we address the real issues here?

Quick Time Virtual Reality

2007-04-06T14:11:00.000-04:00

Well being the software junkie I truly am I purchased some Virtual Reality software. Mainly it was to be used for a gig I still have not been awarded – here are some samples.

The first one is my absolute favorite. My Good Friend Jack Skinner sitting on his porch in my old neighborhood: Ghent in Norfolk.
Pretty cool huh ? (BTW - you need to drag your mouse over the picture to make it work :)

Download Large version (right click - save as)

This second one is called an Object - it's a series of photos taken 360 degrees around a prosthetic bone graph sample. No it's not a purple Lego.

Download Large version (right click - save as)

If I come up with any more cools ones - I'll be sure to post them.

Google Earth

2007-03-20T10:12:00.000-04:00

Google Earth

I believe I was one of the first to create video clips for commercial web sites using the geospatial data visualization application Google Earth - in fact when I purchased the software Google had not even acquired it yet - at that time it was called Keyhole. I did pretty simplistic clips - mainly for real estate web sites like the one I did for The Sanctuary in Sandbridge Beach Virginia - see http://www.falsecape.com/phaseI/aerial_tour.asp which features a clip I produced with Paul Sanders. Well not long after that I took over the CEO seat at Pinnacle Wireless and had no available time to dabble in Video production. Things are different today - I am in the middle of a project producing virtual tours for a company that has 12 locations from Chicago to Fort Lauderdale, and for part of that project I am using Google Earth. Holy Cow. Google has gone 3D.

Not only has Google made 3D models of many areas, now anyone can create a 3D model of any building and upload it for viewing in Google Earth. For example some guy in Virginia Beach made a model of his house and called it simply " My House ". It is very simplistic - but that's my point. On the other hand Someone made really impressive models of Nauticus (The National Maritime Center ) - also Kirn Memorial Library is very well done.

I guess the point here is that the same phenomena that made YouTube such a powerful force is creating some engaging content in Google Earth. Content is being created by the consumer. That is the evolution of the Internet in a nutshell.

BTW - The public version of Google Earth is free, and that's what you use to view the same type presentation in real time on your computer. The Authoring tool necessary to create video clips costs $400 a year to license (Google Earth Pro)

Go Google Yourself

2007-03-08T13:50:00.000-05:00

Go Google Yourself

I'm not sure if it's ADD or boredom - but sometimes in those fleeting seconds waiting for a file to open or a program to close I Google myself. I admit it. Today i found myself quoted in an electronic newsletter from the 20th century. Weird ;) http://www.rtnda.org/resources/radioupdate/fall1999/index.html

the quote is :

Paperless and Tapeless
"In the context of not looking at the world through rose-colored glasses ... the reality of the situation is that every broadcast facility in the country, and not long after, the world, will be digital," says Tom Anthony, national radio consultant and president of his own interactive media enterprise, TomAnthony.com. "If you don't know the concept of 'point-and-click' and 'cut-and-paste', you will become a living, breathing dinosaur."

and BTW I was right <wink>

Chevy’s Belair Café TV Commercials

2007-02-18T14:09:00.000-05:00

Television Commercials featuring Chevy’s Belair Café, an icon of the New York Metro area Club scene in the 80’s and early 90’s. See a much Younger Tom Anthony from about 1987 or so :)

Eight People I met along the Way. . .

2007-02-12T12:37:00.000-05:00

Here is an article (to be) printed in the April 2007 National Parkinson Report. The Author Linda Cooper-O'Leary is a remarkable woman I met though the work of my wife and her Daughter Traci who run the Melvin Weinstein Parkinson's Foundation.

Eight People I met along the Way…

How eight people changed my attitude toward this uninvited visitor who has taken up residence within my body…

Parkinson disease has created changes in me that are, at times, intolerable… the mood swings, the lack of focus, the depression, the pain. I take a different path now than the one I started on. One unintended benefit is that it has brought people so wonderful into my life that I just cannot imagine an existence without them. Let me tell you about eight of them…

A delightful woman whose late father had Parkinson manages a family foundation along with her daughter. Its mission is to assist those with Parkinson Disease to have a richer quality of life. The Foundation, as was her father, is named Melvin Weinstein. I have seen with my own eyes Marsha sit at her desk for hours and patiently listen to the plight of people… Marsha Anthony, you are an angel.

Dedication, Drive… I never quite understood what it must take to be a professional athlete. Cherie Zaun, a LPGA golf Professional and Parkinson Patient, has taught me to understand this. To watch her play is to experience the woman and the love of her game. Watching her arm become stiff and somewhat rigid breaks my heart. But she plays on. And she has taught me to play on as well…

Play on, Cherie Zaun!

My next inspiration is a woman from the same small town in Washington State as I had been. She does not have Parkinson; her husband is a Movement Disorders Specialist. Her personal mission is to raise money for Parkinson Disease and have a fabulous time in the process! Watching her tirelessly go through the details of a fundraiser makes me exhausted! The Arizona Chapter of the National Parkinson Foundation is fortunate to have her as a fund raiser. I am fortunate to count her as a friend. Thanks, Rhaye Mosley!

Parkinson Disease can make one’s feeling of balance and peace just go south! Theresa May, a Massage Therapist, has focused her practice on relieving the physical and mental symptoms of people living with Parkinson. She even gives her Parkinson patients half price massages! She is also a dear friend. Theresa, you have helped me more than you will know.. Thank you!

The very first person who helped me, while I was still living in rural Northwest Oregon and working full time is the Director of the Parkinson Resource Center of Oregon, Holly Chaimov. Holly responded to my first frantic emails immediately and was there in those early weeks and months, even driving a distance to visit me on my lunch break from work. She was the first helping face to Parkinson that I met. Thanks Holly, for giving a first kind face to Parkinson Disease!

The most influential person in my life was my mother who passed away in April of 2005 with Alzheimer’s and Parkinson disease. My extended family has several individuals with Parkinson’s (it is as if the lifeguard took a lunch break when our gene pool was assembled) Mom lost both of her other children to disease. Watching her endure the unspeakable heartbreak of losing two children was almost more than I could bear.

I had the honor to be with her as she left this world I wrote the following in a journal the night before she died:

"I sit in the quiet of the Hospice room, my mother dying of the disease that is also robbing me of my independence, clarity of thought and physical abilities. To see her struggle with every breath, muscles paralyzed while her limbs shake uncontrollably seems too cruel a way to die.

I look into the very first set of eyes that met me as I entered this world. The very eyes that have never made me feel a failure or shame but have only encouraged me and loved me. The very same eyes that have seen both her sons laid to rest.

I am planning to donate her brain to study of Parkinson's disease. To discuss the details at this time seem cruel and morbid. Yet we both would stop at nothing to find the cure to this insidious curse. I touch her head and hope that science appreciates the gift that she is giving them.

My blessing is she has never known of my diagnosis. I could spare her that.

Mom I miss you more than I can say, I love you more than you will ever know, and I still admire you more each day.

Dr Donna Redman who serves as a Gerontologist and Assistant Professor at Arizona State University has taught me so much about aging adult and care giving. Donna’s humorous and informative presentations are of Saturday Night Live quality in humor and Face the Nation in accuracy. This lady knows her stuff! Donna, thanks for teaching me what I thought I already knew.

Parkinson changes lives, relationships and families…. I thank my children Tyson, Linnea and Brent Cooper for attempting to understand this complicated disease, and to understand and love me.

Through living with Parkinson, I have met many people, but one person who dug deep into my heart was my husband, Michael Meeting him I was instantly drawn to his passion for others, his good looks and his attitude on his disease and life.

I wanted some of that easy going nature to rub off on me. He made me feel like the most beautiful person in the world and understands my disease, as he has Parkinson’s disease himself and is the only I could ever want or need. I love you, Michael.

Thank you; Holly, Marsha, Mom, Rhaye, Theresa, Cheri, Donna and Michael. You have taught me by example the attributes of generosity, patience, motivation, hospitality, joy, and above all love. I join with all of you in hating this awful disease…. but I shutter to think what my life would be like had you all not been on this path with me...

Linda Cooper-O’Leary

12-23-06

Linda can be reached by requesting her email address here – just add a comment or email tom “at” tomanthony.com

2007-02-08T16:15:00.000-05:00

Hypothyroidism

According to WebMD, Hypothyroidism is a condition in which the thyroid gland does not produce enough thyroid hormone, which regulates the way the body uses energy.

A low thyroid level can cause symptoms of fatigue, weakness, lethargy, weight gain, depression, and memory problems, among others.

That's sort of good news, in that I found out the reason I am so tired lately is because I accidentally went off my thyroid medicine. Oh I knew I was out, but I had an appointment with my Doctor the following week - which got postponed. I just didn't think about it. Last week I spent 6 hours of the work day on the couch. Saturday and Sunday - pretty much 24 hours. Monday the same. Tuesday my wife called the doctor for me and got me in. I had no idea this was so serious. I thought I had the flu or something, but it kept getting worse.

So the good news is I was not creating a psychosomatic ailment. The bad news is that it will still take a week or two to get back to normal.

Rod Pictures

2007-01-29T21:26:00.000-05:00

Rod Stewart, Norfolk 2007

I Hate Computers

2007-01-23T21:13:00.000-05:00

I hate computers.

All I wanted to do was upgrade to Adobe Acrobat Pro 8. For some reason I got a permissions error. Then I tried to manually change the operating system registry. Big Mistake. That caused other programs - INCLUDING restore point - to not work. In other words I was not only hosed, I could not even revert back to an earlier 'working' version of windows. That was about 1:00 O'clock Yesterday Afternoon. At 2:00 AM this morning I finally had moved the necessary files, saved what I could and was prepared to start over.

After checking, and re-checking I determined that I was going to loose some software because I just could not find the serial number or receipts. $cha-ching. I also found out I had accidentally installed a "cracked" version of one of the main software titles I use. That means I had to upgrade the most recent version I did have serial numbers for to the current version. $cha-ching. Oh and not counting the operating system (Windows XP Pro) and Windows Updates - I counted 66 programs that needed to be reinstalled. I kid you not.

AdAware
Adobe Audition 1.5
Adobe Audition 2.0
Adobe Bridge
Adobe Captivate 2
Adobe Illustrator
Adobe Illustrator CS
Adobe Photoshop
Adobe Photoshop CS2
Adobe Premiere Pro 2.0
AllWebMenuPro v4.2
Atomic email hunter
Atomic email logger
Atomic email verifier
Avant Go
Business plan pro
Divix browser plug in
DVD Ripper Platinum 4
FlashCapture v1.5
FlashMenu
Goldmine
Google Earth
Htttrack
Macromedia Contribute 3.11
Macromedia Dreamweaver 8
Macromedia Extension Manager
Macromedia Fireworks 8
Macromedia Flash 8
Macromedia Flash 8 Video Encoder
Macromedia FlashPaper 2
Macromedia FreeHand MXa
Macromedia HomeSite+
Magic Bullet Movie Looks
Marketing plan pro
Microsoft MapPoint North America 2004
Microsoft Office Professional Edition 2003
Microsoft Office Project Professional 2003
Microsoft Office Visio Professional 2003
Omni Page Pro
palo alto software manager
PaperPort
plaxo tool bar
Quickbooks pro 2005
ScanSoft OmniPage Pro 14.0
Site Map Pro 2.2
SiteMap Pro
Sonic
Sonic Sonic MyDVD Studio Deluxe Suite
Sorenson Squeeze
Sorenson Squeeze 4.5
Stuff It
Swift 3D v4,50
SWiSHmax
Textpad
ThumbsPlus 6.0
ThumbsPlus 7.0
Timeslips
Transcriber CE
Tweak UI
WebPosition 4 Pro Upgrade (from WP4 Std)
Windows Media Encoder
Windows Powertoy
Windows XP
WinHTTrack Website Copier 3.40-2
WinRar
WinTasks Pro

See - that's why i hate computers :)

Tom asked to comment on the Passing of President Gerald Ford

2007-01-21T10:56:00.000-05:00

Out of the blue is a phrase I have used more than once concerning Polk County Florida reaching forward to grab me back in time. The day after President Ford Passed Away (December 27, 2006) I received voice mail from Diane Nichols a reporter for the Winter Haven Florida News Chief. She noticed in my online bio that I had once interview Ford while working at a local (Lakeland Florida) radio station - now a quarter century later I was returning a call to speak with Ms Nichols about the experience. Here is a link to that story, and here is a link to the full text as it appeared in the paper in case the News Chief has some time limit on displaying archived stories from their web site.

Karen Eagle talks about the 2007 Bridal Show

2007-01-20T17:08:00.001-05:00

Gary at Karen Eagle Bridal Show

2007-01-20T10:05:00.000-05:00

Karen Eagle films TV Spot

2006-11-25T10:26:00.001-05:00


Karen Eagle Bridal is part of the Hilltop Merchants group participating in a joint TV Campaign 4thQ 2006. Mr. Dan Eagle filmed the production crew and process using a regular home video camera. The raw footage was digitized and edited using Adobe Premiere by me.

Michael Mac last summer

2006-11-23T21:36:00.000-05:00

Michael McDonald - Steely Dan

Very Wet Thanksgiving

2006-11-23T21:32:00.000-05:00

Ducks in my Backyard

The internet is weird

2006-07-24T09:26:00.000-04:00

The internet is weird. O.K. - I mean I don’t get it sometimes. I have a blog powered by ‘blogger’ – as much as anything to keep up with the technology. Note the address is on my own domain at tomanthony.com/blog - My original web address for the blog and the way it is accessed by blogger is tomanthony.blogspot.com – and apparently it has been compromised – it looks like a malicious java script. How it got in there is what I don’t know – but it’s a statement in itself.

Just like the rest of the world there are good people and bad people in cyberspace. The bad people range from really high level engineers working for unfriendly foreign governments to network engineers who get a kick out of breaking something – like web site security. The latter does not realize that the mess they cause is financially damaging – because someone has to fix it – and time is lost in the process.

I reported the issue to the folks at blogger this morning – I’ll post the results. By the way – Thanks to Joe Cipriano for noticing!

Ahhhhhhhhhhhh VLOG May 23, 2006

2006-05-23T15:22:00.000-04:00

You know, this VLOG really needs no further comment other than to tell you the title of the film is “Jump”

VLOG Sunday, May 14, 2006 – winning video

2006-05-14T14:27:00.000-04:00

For the last few years my daughter and I have worked on a recurring school project making films depicting North Carolina history. It’s a part of the annual contest conducted by The Tar Heel Junior Historian Association – and the winner has their video displayed for one year at the north Carolina museum of history located in Raleigh.

It’s a bit of a brag, but this year the film we submitted as part of the media competition won first place – again. It’s the third time we submitted a film and the third time we won first place. Here is the film – called “Gone But Not Forgotten – The Bug House Laboratory”

Last year my daughter’s history club - the TEACH Historical Club, Eastern of Association of Home Schools, Washington, NC – the students won First place for a film called Reflections of War: Now and Then. I thought last’s film was actually better – but I need to find my copy of it so I can post it for you here.

Here is this year’s winning film.

VLOG Friday, May 05, 2006 – Tech Night Magic

2006-05-05T12:32:00.000-04:00

I went to one of those award banquets last night honoring technologists in the Hampton Roads Area. Actually it was nice – the keynote speaker was retired astronaut and smarty pants Roger K. Crouch who was absolutely hilarious.

But I think the nicest part of the evening was chatting with an old friend and co-worker Eric Worden.

We were talking about his project - an educational charity he co-founded with Michael Goldberg in the early 90's called Magic-The State of the Arts (www.getmagic.net). I hope you enjoy this brief vid of Eric telling me what Magic is all about.

VLOG May 2, 2006 – Election Day

2006-05-03T08:11:00.000-04:00

I spent time at the polls for my friend and business associate Glenn Davis today. I mean literally at the polls – early morning from 6 to about 8:30 and again the afternoon from about 3:30 to almost 7 when the polls closed.

What a trip. I spent time arguing with a guy who ran up in a jogging suit and started putting political signs up in front of Glenn’s. He was not a happy camper – I was not polite.

It was a very interesting experience – perhaps I’ll do that again sometime. Just not sometime soon Here is my report.

New Podcast Posted May 2, 2006

2006-05-02T08:15:00.000-04:00

This past weekend my wife Marsha and I participated in the 12th annual Parkinson’s Unity Walk in Central Park. - Link to Pictures - This was my second year, and I feel fortunate to be able to join in such a worthwhile event. Over 9,000 people showed up to raise over 1.2 million dollars – 100% of which is going straight to Parkinson’s Research.

While we were traveling I fiddled with a recording of song I wrote and recorded back in 1987 called “One More Sleepless Night”. I had used a little Roland drum machine – I think it was a TR-808 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roland_TR-808) – in any event the machine allowed you to program in a chord pattern and was intended to be used to accompany a solo guitarist. Obviously a guitarist with a lot of patience – since it took many hours to program each song.

I would leave the recorder going and just play the song over and over – For this mix I started to use bits from four different takes which were part of the original recording. Apparently I was tweaking the tempo (BPM) settings because they were all four different. That was not working so I picked the best of the four versions and ended up using a couple of passages from a second version.

Here it is – obviously an armature recording – but not a bad song I think. If you do podcasts you already have a reader – like (free) iTunes or the (free) RSS reader in Google – and the subscribe link is below. If not here is a link to the actual file.

Subscribe to Podcast (copy link and paste into your podcast reader)

Rough Day

2006-04-20T19:33:00.000-04:00

It’s been a day where nothing seemed to go correctly – although nothing really bad happened. My daughter Amy placed in a 4H competition. Her project this year was again raising a goat – and she did a great job.

I had an issue with my work computer – I had to load, unload, boot and re-boot. I did finish a single segment of a demo video for a new Media hosting product I hope to launch in the next few days.
Thant’s it – 12 hours later. Well here is the video for you to giggle at anyway.

VLOG for Friday April 14, 2006

2006-04-14T12:46:00.000-04:00

Hello and Happy Holiday!

I have posted my video log for today - talking about two new pod casts I uploaded this morning.

For some reason the video is playing better in Mozilla Firefox than in Internet Explorer - you should be using Firefox anyway - so download it here ;)

To subscribe to my pod casts right click on link below, select "Copy Shortcut" and paste URL into your pod cast software.

Radio Production

Air Checks

An alternate to view Video logs is to visit my corporate web log at http://blog.pinn.net/

Something new

2006-04-06T16:31:00.000-04:00

There has been a flurry of activity on my personal internet stuff – but it’s not all fun and games.

A reporter for the Virginian Pilot approached the Hampton Roads Technology Council (HRTC) to see if any members might be interested in being “Citizen Journalists” by way of a public blog.

Here is how the HRTC approached me on this issue:

The Virginian Pilot is looking for a handful of Technology companies to participate as ‘Citizen Journalists” in a new technology – focused forum and blog area.

They are requesting that HRTC recommend some folks that would be willing to commit to journal/blogging their ‘adventures in a technology company’ at least 3 times a week for at least two months. (entries ranging from a few sentences to a few paragraphs)

Their vision is that folks will informally discuss what’s new at their company, how they are overcoming everyday business issues, struggles that they might be having, thoughts on increasing business in Hampton Roads, exciting trends they see, what life is really like in a start-up or established technology company, etc.

Needless to say being selected would be invaluable publicity. However I was really embarrassed by my personal web site – thinking maybe someone from the paper would look at a three year old 100% out of date web site! So I finally updated my site, updated this corporate blog (blog.pinn.net) – I created a photo gallery (pix.tomanthony.com) and feel better should someone happen on to tomanthony.com.

I needed to update that stuff irrespective of the news story – but that was certainly the inspiration!

Notes on the content of this blog

2005-02-07T08:01:00.000-05:00

I find myself answering a lot of questions about the Internet and marketing as a routine response to my professional email. Some of this info is too good to waste, so here in I will post notes that you may find helpful.

Tom

The First Post

2005-01-03T22:44:00.000-05:00

Since 1996 my personal website has been dedicated to selling my professional services. Well, I have not gotten around to changing anything on tomanthony.com for over 2 years, so it’s not doing such a hot job selling anything anyway. There is nothing for sale here. I’ve been hearing about blogging and doing nothing about it.

Here then is my process of discovery. For this point on I’ll use this space to journal, and only leave out the really juicy parts. Of course there are no juicy parts these days – but a personal ramble like this needs SOME sort of spice.