A Personal Blog
General
Announcing the 23press Blog!
Jan 30th
Okay, maybe not the MOST exciting news in the world, but if one of the reasons you read this (very rarely updated blog) is because you want to stay up to date on 23press happenings, we’ve now got our blog up!
If you’d been reading in the last few weeks, you would have known:
- We joined an incubator, INcubes.
- We hired our first non-founder dev.
- We just finished a Hackathon.
And if you read this/next week, you’ll see:
- Security issues with current WordPress backup plugins.
- Product launch.
- Deal on product launch, until Feb 28th.
- Product announcement.
- Investor info.
So head on over to stay up to date! I’ll still feature big news here, but if you want to see how 23press continues to grow and evolve, head on over and subscribe, or follow us on Facebook!
Help Save a Guy, Help Save a Puppy, Help Save a Mo(ustache)
Oct 5th
This is not a prostate gland:
Not a Prostate Gland
That’s because every picture I could find of a prostate gland was disgusting. So for today’s discussion, imagine the above suuuuper cute puppy is, in fact, a prostate gland. Now, you wouldn’t want this prostate gland to die now would you? That’d be sad.
Now imagine how sad it’d be if every guy you loved had a puppy this cute attached to him, and if their puppy got really sick and died they would die too. Now we have not just dying puppies, but cute puppies and beloved dudes dying at the same time!
About Movember
From the site:
Movember challenges men to change their appearance and the face of men’s health by growing a moustache. The rules are simple, start Movember 1st clean-shaven and then grow a moustache for the entire month. The moustache becomes the ribbon for men’s health, the means by which awareness and funds are raised for prostate cancer. Much like the commitment to run or walk for charity, the men of Movember commit to growing a moustache for 30 days.
A non prostate courtesy of #thecrush
Why I’m Helping
Besides a deep love for all puppies (mine in particular), the reality is that men’s health causes sometimes don’t get enough attention. That’s nobody’s fault, but given my puppy could one day get sick, as could the puppies attached to my two kids, I figure it’s my duty to do what I can. Even if “what I can” means “making a fool of myself”…
Cause… Erm, this boy can’t grow facial hair. Even to save my puppy.
But I’m doing it anyways. I’m growing a Mo (moustache), or my attempt at one, and taking on public ridicule cause it’s the right thing to do, it’s fun and, hell, it’s for charity so even the public mockery will be pretty low key.
And you can too!
Want to Help?
I’m helping run the digital program for Movember Toronto. And we’re mobilizing. Now. There are lots of real world events we’ll be supporting across towns. Numerous challenges to organize across the digital space, and a whole whack of silly, sexy and odd pictures of Toronto Mo’s to take, post and promote.
It is our goal to raise $1MM in Toronto for prostate research. And to do that, we need every Mo Bro and Mo Sister (girls that either love healthy puppies or love guys that have healthy puppies) to mobilize.
For now, we’re creating teams to spearhead awareness, fundraising, laughter and maybe a puppy flashmob (I’m quasi serious) across the Greater Toronto Area. So if you love puppies or dudes or just want to see way more Mos next month, here’s what you can do:
- Suggest a new team
- Suggest someone for an existing team
- Suggest a sponsor or partner
- Suggest an event
- VOLUNTEER for an of the above
- Choose a team you’d like to lead or co-lead (see below)
The MovemberTO Teams
Here’s my brainstorm (names subject to change), along with Melissa Smich and Michael Nus who are Co-Captains and spreading the word:
- AgencyMosTO: Work at an agency? Which agency will have the best Mo? Which one will raise the most puppy-saving money? Which one will produce the oddest puppy-sized replica of yours truly?
- GenYYZMos: Part of the younger generation? Just cause your puppy is young, doesn’t mean it can’t be awesome. Step up and show how much you love puppies, and sexy guys in Mos!
- StartupMosTO: Startups rawk at doing a tonne with very little. The startup community here in Toronto rawks… so let’s show the world what we can do when we put our minds to it! Besides, we don’t want those AgencyMos raising more money, do we?!
- BrownMosTO: Okay, I’m brown. I know you can’t tell, but it’s true (well half brown). So I want to see my community mobilized. Besides, few people on the planet grow better body hair than the brown man! (present company sadly excluded).
- Others? Let me know your thoughts! What communities should we reach out to? The gay community? Musicians? Artists? Hipsters? Suburbanites? Baby boomers? People named who’s first name is Dave?
The Wrap-Up
Puppies are cute. Prostates are not. Proof:
A cute puppy. Not a cute prostate.
Save a puppy. Email me (jeremy@netmobs.com) or call (416 726 3602) to get involved. Or just leave a comment here. Tweet it. Spread it on Facebook. Let’s mobilize Toronto for the good of all cute guys, all cute puppies and all (un)cute prostates.
How to Participate
And Follow @MovemberTO (yes it’s still being turned on, one step at a time!) on Twitter for more updates!
Go to Movember.com and Register. Join the MovemberTO team.
What the iPad iAin't
Jan 28th
So the iPad is out. Yay. I mean, no, really, this is my excited face. You can tell because my eyes are open.
Seriously, though, I had very low expectations for the iPad. Mostly because, well, I figured it’d just end up being a larger iPhone and an eBook reader all in one. And none of that sounded exciting. But part of me, a small part, was actually hoping that when Steve-O said it was the most important thing he’d evar done (remember this is the guy who invented moving to a different state to jump the donor list) that it’d actually, y’know, matter.
Now I’m hopeful that the iPad will a) get a new name but b) more importantly will pull an iPhone and be rawking by it’s 3rd iteration (cue Microsoft jokes).
However, right now? It barely even meets my expectations. Let’s review what Steve-O promised… that the iPad would be better than either an iPhone or a laptop at:
The iPad iAin't Better...
Browsing: While I’m no Flash fan (though I see it’s place, especially for educational and rich media stuff), not having Flash available in a browser is flat out bad for browsers. Sorry, but even if you think Flash is evil, ask yourself: if Microsoft had come out with an OS that didn’t support Flash would you be happy? I think not. WIN: Laptop.
Email: The physical keyboard is nice. But how is it better at email than a laptop? Sorry, poorer typing, less UI control? WIN: Laptop.
Photos: I’ll actually give this to the iPad. Everything about this is sexy. WIN: iPad.
Video: In what world is the iPad better at video? Cause it has fullscreen and you can carry it on your lap? But it doesnt’ have widescreen. And doesnt’ allow non-Youtube web-based video… and doesnt’ have decent external speakers. Or the ability to plug in decent USB headphones or… anything. WIN: Laptop.
Music: Music should be one of two things: highly portable, or high quality. The iPad is neither. Nevermind that Flash-based music services (like many podcast plugins for wordpress) simply won’t work. What’s the use-case for a larger iPod Touch that plays the same thing as the iPod touch, but where I can’t listen to the music while doing something else? Maybe if it was waterproof I could use it in the bath, but besides that… I got nuthin’. WIN: Laptop/iPhone.
Games: Games, like music, should be one of two things: highly portable or high quality. The iPad does neither. What it does do, which is interesting, is introduce true multi-touch gaming. This’ll bear watching. For now, though? WIN: Laptop/iPhone.
eBooks: Yeah, eBooks. Let’s give the iPad props. It is drop dead gorgeous for newspaper/magazine reading. I can totally see sitting on the couch reading the latest issue of Drop or something. Sexy. But books? Erm, no, I refuse to strain my eyes that way while reading for 6 hours (plus, can’t imagine how I’d prop this up while laying sideways in a readable fashion?). Props for beauty, but this is not an eReader, nevermind one for eBooks (Steve-O’s word). Nevermind that my Kindle? I leave it in my backpack loaded with books. If I don’t see it for 3 months, but then find myself on a plane? Pull it out and read. That’ll never happen with the iPad. WIN: KINDLE.
Fundamentally, I can’t really figure out a solid use-case for the iPad, outside of the ability to watch TV on a smaller and more portable screen… No multitasking. No USB. No video out. No phone calls. No Flash. No camera. No use.
Hell, even Hitler hates it:
Back Into the Game
Jan 18th
Till I Collapse by Enimem
Until the roof The roof comes off Until my legs give out from underneath me
I will not fall, I will stand tall, Feels like no one could beat me.
Nearly 6 months ago (in 9 days), I announced that I was leaving b5media, a company where I was the CEO and one of 4 founders, along with 3 other amazing individuals. I then proceeded to take roughly 6 months of quieter time to work on me, sort through stuff and figure out what I wanted personally and professionally. Note: I highly recommend doing this if you haven’t recently (it’s a central part of a talk I’m giving with @geekmommy at South by South West).
As I came out of my hardcore “Workcation”, and a month post the transition, I wrote this post detailing some of my thoughts and whatnot. Looking back on the post, the thing that stood out (besides my #madwritingskillz) was my thoughts on what I wanted to do:
- Figure out what makes you smile, and do more of that
- Figure out what makes you stress, and do less of that
- Don’t be afraid to fail (I used to live by this, but sometime in the last year I lost it)
- Sleep
- Friends and family matter
More smiling.
Less stress.
More passion.
More sleep.
More involvement.
What I Wanted
Basically I wanted a job where I could be great, be part of a team, have real work/life balance (cause I’d be more inspired that way) and make a difference in the company and for our clients.
I’ve seen a lot of job opportunities over the last 6 months. Many of them were amazing, and I felt silly turning them down, but something about each just didn’t feel with my fundamental needs to make a difference, be part of a great team and learn/grow.
Over the last few months, one opportunity has consistently excited me. I could never quite put my finger on “why” until a good and wise friend basically pointed out that if I was still interested even though it wasn’t the best pay, the best title, etc, then I must either be crazy or I must actually give a damn. I really did. And giving a damn about your “job” is actually pretty cool when you get right down to it.
She’s a smart cookie that one. Even if she does say “insurance” and “ambulance” wrong.
So, I talked to the company, we worked out details, and … well, today is Day 1.
What I Got
Today I’ve joined the Thornley Fallis / 76design team. The titles don’t matter. The details don’t matter. What matters is:
- The team is Blue Angel incredible. From people I knew rawked like Dave, Michael, Terry and Joe to people I’ve gotten to know very recently that are also incredible like Sarah, Shawn, Jenn, Keelan and Leisha… to people that I haven’t met yet cause I’ve only been here 6 hours… who are also, I’m completely confident, rawkstars.
- We’re doing fab work for some incredibly interesting clients. I’m not sure what the kosherness is on naming them, so I’ll just say that our clients are high end companies we’re doing leading edge work for, as well as folk you may never hear of where we’re able to grow and redefine their business. It’s just flat out cool.
- I get to learn. Let’s face it, doing new stuff is 3 parts scary and 105 parts just wicked exciting. Doing it in an industry you’ve only worked with tangentially (even if you’ve won gobs of awards and spoken at events in said industry) is even cooler. Getting to learn about marketing, branding and PR from some of the coolest and most knowledgeable people in Canada (if not the entire industry)? Teh hawtness.
This is my first time in a “job” in, like, 6 years. It’s my first time with a “real” desk and an office, well, evar. It’s my first time taking on a senior role in a company I didn’t start, or where I didn’t work my way up through the ranks. But more important than that, it’s my first time working in such a dynamic environment where the team, clients and work are all nsync (see what I did there? #boybandaddict).
Today is Day 1. It was a great day (and it’s nowhere near done). I’m hopped up on something better than redbull: energy and excitement. They should bottle this shit.
PS: HUGE thanks to @jpetersen for helping me fix blog issues to get this up! Total great guy! Here’s his details in case you ever need help ;-)
Football? Me? Erm… No Comment…
Nov 3rd
To any of my friends, it’s no secret that I’ve never liked football. Hell, I’ve publicly mocked it on stage, on Twitter and in conversations. Even to professional football players. I’m classy like that. Classy, I tell ya!
However recently I decided to give football (NFL, not CFL!) a real shot and watch a full game. Why isn’t important. Neither is it important why I chose the New Orleans Saints to cheer for. But I did. Not a bad team to pick, they were 5-0 going into last week’s game against the Dolphins, and having been to NOLA in the recent past, I felt it was a good game/team/time to give the sport a serious shot.
This had to hurt…So what happened? What did I think of America’s pastime? Is it still on par with baseball in my mind, or is it a real sport?
If you aren’t sure, I highly suggest reviewing my Twitter stream from last night’s Saints/Falcons game. Cause, erm, I was clearly into it. I’ve now watched 2 games in a row, both highly emotional, highly charged games, and I think I’ve realized why I didn’t give football it’s due before:
- I didn’t grow up in the states: this should go without saying, but the reality is Canadians don’t get excited about football. We’ve never been to a tailgater. We probably can’t even name 3 QBs (hell, half of us probably think you’re talking about a certain smelly province of ours).
- Football is a social game: now, most sports are best watched with others. But watching a NEW sport alone? Not so hawt. Twitter changes this. Being able to chat with Aaron and jam with other Saints fans during the game is a whole nother expeirence!
- I had no emotional ties to the teams: I’m a Leafs fan. Always will be. Even this year when they’re playing like the farking Ducks. I’m a Leafs fan cause I AM CANADIAN and I AM TORONTONIAN. It’s what we do. How we roll. Why we’re idjuts. I had no emotional connection to any NFL teams or cities, so there was no emotional investment in the game – which always makes the game 10x better. Don’t believe me? Try watching women’s lacrosse.
Since I’ve now watched a game, have folk I can talk to during games and have a team/city I care about… well, football is a very different experience. And, as much as it pains me to say it: it’s an experience I actually enjoy.
I can’t say I’ll watch every Saints game. I won’t. I can’t even say I’ll follow the stats religiously, cause I won’t. But, like the Leafs, if a game’s on, or a friend invites me over, or I snag tickets: I’ll be there and prepared. I won’t become a football freak like Aaron, but I will no longer mock the sport. Specially when the saints are playing.
