Author Archives: Steve Mays

Dropbox

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Dropbox is near the top of my short-list of apps/tools I can’t live without. When I need to move a file from my MacBook to the iMac, it goes into Dropbox icon in my menu bar… and a few seconds later I take it out of the Dropbox on the big computer. Much faster than plugging in a thumb-drive. And it works for files too big to send as email attachments.

And it’s great for files that I use a lot and what to have available anywhere. Sure, I could use MobileMe’s iDisk and do sometimes but nothing is as easy as Dropbox.

And the Public folder is the perfect way to share a big file.

Better tool for journalists, iPhone or BlackBerry?

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Etan Horowitz, posting on E-Media Tidbits, attempts (and succeeds, in my opinion) to answer the question: Which is better tool for journalists, BlackBerry or iPhone? I’ll just share his conclusions here and you can read the full post:

“In the days when producing content mainly happened from a laptop or the office, the BlackBerry made a lot of sense. It is a perfect tool for communicating quickly by e-mail or text and looking up information online. But now that many journalists are expected to post stories, blog posts, photos and videos from the field, the iPhone is a better option.

As a profession, journalism is still struggling to find its footing in the digital age. Since most of the innovative mobile applications are being developed for the iPhone, using an iPhone will help journalists stay current with technology and get them excited about its potential for news.

Don’t believe me? Just give an iPhone to one of the old-school types in your newsroom and see how they react after a few days of use. They’re likely to tell you the device changed their life. You won’t get the same response by giving someone a BlackBerry.

But that doesn’t mean the iPhone is best for all journalists. Editors, Web producers and others who don’t report from the field but frequently communicate with a team will probably be better served by a BlackBerry. And the fact that BlackBerrys cost less, run on multiple carriers and have removable batteries and memory cards are also valid considerations.” [Thanks, Aaron for the link]

Local bank phished. Again.

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I received this text message last night. It never occurred to me it was anything but a scam. You call the number and some social engineer asks you for all kinds of questions about your accounts. And, yes, some number of clueless folks apparently called the number. I’d kind of like to know how they got my mobile number. Probably not that difficult. This same bank got hit by an email phishing scam a year or so back.

Shop Talk: SEC Digital Network

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The Southeastern Conference is getting ready to launch the SEC Digital Network. They’re working with a company called XOS Digital and are touting: “…nearly 10,000 hours of original and exclusive SEC content anytime, anywhere through online video syndication, digital downloads, and exclusive live-streaming and on-demand video content.”

If I understand this correctly, this does NOT include live streaming of actual game broadcasts. Those are protected by the rights holders. Companies like ours. So what content will be available?

  • Highlights
  • Complete game replays
  • Breaking SEC news in real-time
  • Post-game interviews
  • Tailgate events
  • Behind-the-scenes pep talks
  • Press conferences

The company I work for is associated with some SEC schools: Alabama, Mississippi State and South Carolina.

Remember that saying about the farmer’s pig? We eat everything but the oink? Well, companies like ours pay lots and lots of money for the marketing rights to this big schools and we have to sell everything but the oink to recover that investment.

But you can only put so many commercials in a radio or TV broadcast; only so many logos on a big scoreboard; only so many ads in a program (as you can see, I don’t really know everything we sell).

And if God isn’t making any more land, she’s not making any more avails in a football broadcast. So everyone is looking for ways to generate more programming, more content, to support additional advertising. The SEC Digital Network would seem to be doing this.

And the fans have a nearly insatiable appetite for anything related to their team. And if the SEC does this right, with lots of fan engagement and interaction, and fully mobile… they’ll have a winner.

Is it iPhone friendly?

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While we’re getting more and more information online without ever visiting a website (at least the home page), I think this is going to be an increasingly important question.

Before getting an iPhone, I really didn’t worry that much about how the websites I worked on looked on a mobile device. That was a mistake.

I did give it some thought as I moved smays.com from Typepad to WordPress and chose a theme that displayed reasonably well on a small screen.

We might be nearing the end of my Breakfast Reading Evolutionary Cycle. And it’s an iPhone propped up against a napkin dispenser.