No Snivelling

Not sure how I missed Karen's new website feature, a new Urchin Store blog, but I did... error corrected, however!

Karen's using it to highlight new merchandise that she gets in the store, with images, descriptions, etc. I've been hoping she'd do this for a long time... it's a much easier way for customers to be notified when unique merchandise arrives, and it reduces the need for retailers to send email every time there's a new arrival. Then, if a monthly summary email is sent to all customers, it's easy to point them to more information on the blog and possibly entice them to sign up for more frequent (and meaningful) updates via the blog.

Kudos, Ms. Cho!

Labels: urchin, urchin seattle

courtesy of 37Signal's blog:


Poll: Bullshit Is Most Important Issue For 2008 Voters

Labels: 37signals, bullshit, the onion

I was really excited today to see JibJab's latest launch, called Sendables -- they were dreamed up by JibJab's brothers and co-founders Gregg and Evan Spiridellis last year and the quality they've brought to market is really unbelievably good.

Sendables are funny videos and images built for sharing, with topics ranging from birthdays and holidays to flirts and disses... yes, they sound a bit like e-card (but, JibJab implores you... DON’T CALL THEM E-CARDS :-)

Labels: e-cards, ecards, jibjab, sendables

I've raved about the Sonos home music system before (basically, it hooks up to your computer/the internet, and then wirelessly to zones throughout your house... gives you ability to control music/speakers anywhere in house and access all the music on your computer and the internet... hard to explain... but is awesome!), but I now admit that I did have one huge gripe -- in the past, you couldn't actually 'Search' for music tracks, artists, and albums in Rhapsody. It seemed pretty insane, but you previously had to find the artist by picking the genre... that might seem easy, but where would you find Norah Jones? Alternative? Soul/Blues? Rock? It could be quite frustrating.

With their recent upgrade, they added a sweet little search capability, plus a number of other services upgrades (including Napster Access, linkages to Best Buy's online music store, and more).

Yes, the search is over :-)

Labels: sonos

I've had Yoga on my to-do list for the last several months, for many reasons (no, that image is not me!):
1) it's one of the best things for core strength and flexibility, both things that will alleviate my lower back soreness and intermittent herniations/flare-ups
2) a one-hour session always leaves me extremely relaxed; often I feel as if i just had a combo massage/chiropractic adjustment, with a boost in mental clarity to boot!
3) my gym membership includes weekend yoga on saturday and sunday for no additional charge

I finally made it in yesterday for the 10:30am session, and the instructor, Jen, was fantastic. Like all good instructors, she repeatedly made novices (aka 'me') feel incredibly comfortable, reminding everyone to just do what they could, and if you got too shaky, to just get into a comfortable position of your own choice.

I found myself laughing at how ridiculous some of the poses were for someone as uncoordinated as myself, but the end result was fantastic.

In fact, I went straight to my chiropractor, and Amy said (without being prodded about my yoga session) that it was the most relaxed she'd ever seen me, and in fact, was one of the bes adjustments she had with anyone in a long time -- the proof's in the pudding!

Finally, I'm always amazed at how tiring a Yoga session can be -- I was drenched in sweat, and today (a day later), I'm incredibly sore, in a very good way. I'm re-converted -- I look forward to making it part of my weekly routine.

Labels: back pain, chiropractor, denali fitness, yoga

Labels: democrats good, jibjab, republicans bad

I was in San Francisco last week for the Graphing Social Facebook conference, and was psyched to finally meet some previously-only online friends, Monty and Myah -- they're MBA students at Berkeley, and are heavily involved in organizing the >play conference at Berkeley. >play focuses on the creative side of the digital media industry in addition to business models. It will bring together creative professionals (artists, developers, and producers), industry leaders, and students to provide multiple perspectives on industry trends and challenges.

If you'll be in the Bay area, I highly recommend that you check it out!

Labels: berkeley, digital media, mba, play

Hey folks,

Know that some of you aren't absorbed into all things internet -- for a quick and easy-to-read primer on why Facebook is important, and how to get started thinking about how it can impact your organization, I recommend you take 5 minutes and read this blog post at TechCrunch written by my friend, Dave McClure.

Added bonus is that there's a 25% discount link at the bottom of the post -- so, if you're thinking about heading to Dave's Graphing Social conference, act quickly and save some $$$!

Labels: dave mcclure, graphing social patterns, techcrunch