May 2013 – Stay N Alive

Month: May 2013

In the Internet of Things, the Server in Your Pocket Fills the Room

Posted on by jessestay

I’m going to go on record – the name “server” is going extinct. From servers that filled up entire rooms and buildings to just add simple numbers, we have evolved into a world where I can store a server in the closet of my office to do things like stream TV to the Xboxes in each room of my house. And with the Cloud, I don’t even have to do that. My Nest, my Fitbit, my Sonos, and other devices all use the Cloud to access the internet and sync with each other. But now with Google Glass and wearable computing I’m finding we’re moving to a new type of Server — the server in your pocket called your phone.

For the last several years if you wanted your portable devices to connect to the internet they needed to each have their own SIM card and Cellphone contract. With the many devices in our lives, that prices adds up more and more as I add a Kindle and/or a Nexus 7 for my 6 kids, an iPad for me and my wife, smartphones, and things like Chromebook and other similar devices that use cell connections to get internet. There’s a better way to do it and I think Google Glass is headed there – it’s through the server in your pocket.

Glass decided to take an approach that doesn’t use a cell connection or SIM card to get internet access. Instead, it uses either the bluetooth or WiFi tethering of your phone to get to the internet. It’s not perfect, nor is it ideal, and in fact I see it as one of the biggest complaints amongst users of the device. However, I think that’s a cultural issue that is going to change.

As I head out places now with Google Glass, there’s a process I go through. I check the battery on my phone and my Glass, make sure I have a backup battery, and then I turn on the Wireless Hotspot on my Samsung Galaxy S3 because it doesn’t support Bluetooth tethering. It’s not ideal, but you can see how just a few tweaks to the phone and a recognition that the phone is now the center of all devices around it will fix these issues. I can really see where Google is going with this.

I think you’ll see companies like Google and Apple improve your phone as not just another device on your home network, but the device that powers all of the “things” around you. You’ll see bluetooth profiles emerge where multiple devices can all connect to your phone at once and use the connection. You’ll see automatic awareness of the devices your phone is familiar with, without any user intervention. You’ll see better battery life and I bet you’ll rarely even take your phone out of your pocket, unless you need to truly draw or type something you just can’t speak out loud.

I’ve touched lightly on this subject before with the release of the iPad and integration of Airplay between Apple devices back in 2010 – we’re moving into a world where you’ll have many types of monitors that will automatically sync with your phone. One could be Google Glass. One could be the monitor on your desk. Another could be an iPad or tablet device. Others could be the windows on your car. Or how about Billboards on the side of the road? Or what about syncing with your brain waves and sending you signals with no monitor at all? Believe it or not, we’re almost there. Your phone will be your personal “server” and everything around you will automatically become aware of the presence of your phone.

To do this, Google needs to start improving the Android experience to do this – I expect they’re headed that direction. Apple does too. In the meantime, start practicing getting the word “server” out of your vocabulary – you are the server now.

The future is here.

Glass Explorer Shares 3D Printable Adapter for Your Prescription Glasses

Posted on by jessestay

I’ve got to admit – I love my Google Glass. A little awkward and geeky looking, yes, but for a geek like me that’s part of the appeal. There’s one thing I don’t like about them though, and that’s that I can’t wear them with my glasses, and I hate wearing contacts. It appears one Google Glass Explorer has fixed that though, and being the geek that you are, you can fix the problem as well, using a torx screw driver and a 3D printer (of course you probably have one of those as well – it’s cheaper than your Google Glass after all).

Thingiverse (the Makerbot community for sharing 3D plans you can download and print yourself) user “DDRBoxman” (Colin Edwards – Follow him on Google+ here) uploaded plans and pictures of a 3D attachment you can attach to your prescription glasses and have the Glass prism and computer there with you, no contact lenses required. The hack requires a simple torx screw driver to remove the main computer and prism from the metal that straps around your head from Google Glass, and then you attach it to the plastic clip, which attaches to your glasses.

There’s no doubt with the simplicity of this hack that we’ll see similar options from Google in the future. But this goes to show you the possibilities that are available when you can print bits to atoms and build whatever you want. I guarantee there will be a secondary market for accessories and attachments like this for Google Glass in the future. I bet Glasses manufacturers get in on the act as well at some point.

The big question now becomes when can I just print my own Google Glass altogether?

If you have a 3D printer, go ahead and print your own prescription Glass “Glass” attachment over on Thingiverse! (Note, Thingiverse seems to be down as I write this – you can find another post in the Glass Community, but you’ll have to wait for Thingiverse to come up to download)

Want Facial Recognition With Google Glass? Use Google+

Posted on by jessestay

In case you haven’t been reading Facebook or Google+ lately, I got my Google Glass Explorer Edition this past week. You can expect me to share much more of my experiences here as I learn about it. One of the most frequently asked feature requests I see surrounding Google Glass is that it would be awesome if it had some sort of facial recognition included. We’re seeing apps like MedRef that make facial recognition (sort of) available for medical professionals, but the question still remains, will we get to have it built in? Well the answer is it’s actually already there – if you turn it on in Google+.

In your Google+ account settings there’s an option to notify you if someone “Shares a photo or video with me that I might be in.” Enable that and even set it to send you an SMS when it happens. When someone takes a picture of you via Google Glass and shares it to Google+, it should notify you. Approve that, and now they know who you are.

Of course, it’s a bit of a hack, and the person you’re taking a picture of must be using Google+ and have this enabled to work, but it is a way to know who you are taking pictures of. So if you get Google Glass (when it’s available to the masses), and you’re taking pictures of people via the device, be sure to share it to Google+. Maybe if you’re lucky they’ll get notified that their picture was taken, approve it, and now you’ll have a tagged picture with their name on it.

It’s definitely not ideal, but this at least does suggest that it wouldn’t be very difficult to make facial recognition a more integrated part of Google Glass. Let’s hope by the time most of you use it you’ll get this functionality by default. In the meantime make sure you’ve got a Google+ account!

Vlog #1 – JJ Talks About Holding the Cat

Posted on by jessestay

While I have certainly shared many videos about my life and my family, I don’t think I’ve ever called it a “vlog”. Let’s make this post the first – I officially call this “Vlog #1”. In today’s Vlog JJ talks about holding our cat #hashtag, and yes, we spell it that way! Enjoy, and please subscribe to our STAYTube channel!:

http://youtube.googleapis.com/v/UMndhIWrp_Y&source=uds

We’ve come a long way – Disqus is Now as big as Youtube

Posted on by jessestay

It seems like just yesterday that Robert Scoble invited me to go with him to visit Disqus Headquarters with their founders Daniel Ha and Jason Yan out at their new offices in San Francisco. They had recently launched their new commenting platform for blogs the year before, and wanted some exposure from the Scobleizer himself (see the interview in 2008 here and here, where I’m in the background – filmed on Qik – remember that?). Just today, Disqus announced 1 billion monthly unique visitors — yes, that’s as big as Youtube!

While other bloggers are calling for the death of RSS, this puts a big dagger right in the heart in any of those claims, with Disqus seemingly at the heart of most blogs these days (and powering the comments on this blog as well). While there are certainly religious wars between the WordPresses and Bloggers and Tumblrs out there, Disqus has managed to remain an unbiased layer that crosses all of these properties. I think if this statistic is real (and knowing Daniel and Jason I believe them), blogging certainly isn’t dead!

If Facebook is the largest social network in the world with 1 billion+ active users (is that the same as monthly uniques?), and Youtube is the second, I’m pretty sure Disqus can claim to be the 3rd (or are they the 2nd, beating Youtube?). The cool thing about Disqus is they’re a social network of blogs and blog readers. In many ways they’ve become a glue that binds together blogs across the web with actual people and conversations between those people.

Disqus certainly has competitors such as Janrain and Gigya at least in terms of the commenting space, but I don’t see these claims coming out of those camps. If there’s a winner in the blog-commenting category Disqus is it. Congratulations to my friends Daniel and Jason in this amazing accomplishment! I’m really surprised more of the big tech blogs aren’t covering this.

Let’s celebrate this by clicking through the link where you’re reading this and commenting via Disqus below!:

On My Own Again – I’m Back in the Saddle

Posted on by jessestay

When I started working for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints with the first role with the title “social” in it (see my sum-up here), I came in with a desire to serve, but only planning to be there for 6 months. I had been on my own for several years at that point and really enjoyed my independence. I had no idea I’d end up there for 3 years, but thoroughly enjoyed the time I spent there and was able to help organize and shape the organization of social media within the Church. I learned of the Spirit there that guides the Church and its employees, and the wonderful things the organization works to accomplish. After that I moved on to Deseret Digital Media, a for-profit, top-25 digital news organization owned by the Church to manage social media.

While at Deseret Digital Media a short but very productive 6 months, we were able to double our social referrals in the short time I was there through means of a combination of integrating social more into our websites and building perhaps one of the largest social presences in the world with over 20 million fans worldwide and over 200 social media properties on a very limited budget. I thoroughly enjoyed my time there and hope to continue advising them in their progress.

It’s with excitement that after working for 3 and a half years for the Church and Church-owned entities I’m now moving on again, this time on my own full time to pursue building my own brand and publishing, speaking and some consulting efforts. Yes, I’m back in the saddle again and stronger than ever! I have no regrets and appreciate the experience the last 3 and a half years have given me.

What will I be focusing on now? My primary focus to start will be speeding up the number of courses I’ve been producing on Social Media for the the developer-focused curriculum company, Pluralsight. They’re a great organization to work with, and it allows me to keep up my software-development chops. Make sure you subscribe now and check out my courses with them! I’ll probably use this to get down and code a few things – maybe something cool for my new Google Glass (just ordered yesterday!)?

With that as my focus, I’m sure I’ll have lots of spare time. Here are the things I’d love to work on:

  • Speaking! I’m hoping to bump up my number of speaking engagements and turning that much more into a business. Contact me if you’re looking to hire a good speaker with real-world experience and true understanding of both the technical and marketing side of social media.
  • My next book. I have secured a wonderful agent with Waterside Literary Agents to represent what I hope will be a best-selling book on the paradigm change caused by social media and the things I’ve learned leading social media for major organizations as well as understanding the software behind them. Stay tuned for that (and any interested publishers please contact me!)
  • Youtube. I have 3 channels I’m focusing on currently, but will likely help out a few locals here in Utah on some more. My first is more of a vlog format chronicling my entertaining family of 8 – go subscribe to STAYTube here! Second, I’ll be focusing on my more techy-focused Youtube channel at TheSocialGeek – don’t forget to subscribe if you like tech! Lastly, I really want to chronicle what I’m learning in Gardening on my GeekGreens Youtube channel. Make sure to subscribe if you’re looking for geeky ways to learn gardening.
  • Blogging! I miss updating this blog regularly! I used to update almost daily – I hope to do it again. Stay tuned for more updates here, and maybe every so often I can scoop MG Siegler on a Techmeme headline or two 😉 I’d also love to do more reviews here and through my Youtube channel – if you’re a tech company looking to reach tens of thousands of people send me your stuff to review. I’d love to share my thoughts and opinions with my audience.
  • Consulting. I’m going to be picky in my consulting due to the time it takes – this will not be my primary income source so I want to help companies that really need me. However, I’d still love to give it a try – reach out if you need some help and maybe we can figure something out.
I’m so excited to have a little more time to focus again on what I love most – building, writing, and producing really cool stuff that can change the world! I’m excited to get back to writing and coding. I’m excited to share my real-world experience with more people. I’m excited to focus again on building this audience.
So if you get a chance, stick around and say hi. Let me know how we can work together. Come join my various communities and be a part of something big. You’re all part of the Staymates/Social Geek community (join us on Facebook!) so let’s make the most out of this!