Elliott C. Back: Internet & Technology

I attended @Alex Krupp’s “social media experiment” last night, Swagapalooza 2009, which was a blast. The crowd were avid twitterers (I met @gregwong, @fiestyfoodie, @mikebarish, Avi @strayboots, @ambitiousdelish, @Switch2Health, @thebuzzkillers, @SimplySeema, Tamar, @voyagetv, @IdeaPaint, and @ImageThink). After brief socializing, it kicked off with a rapid-fire series of 5-minute presentations from inventors and entrepreneurs who presented their ideas and products. At the end of it, we all took home bags of free swag and product to evaluate more carefully at home.

The lovely people at ImageThink drew an illustrated version of each presenter’s main points in realtime. It’s pretty cool, so I’ll paste here as well (click for big):

So onto the Swag! Tons of free stuff (disclosure) that I shall write about, in relative order of cuteness and utility.

Idea Paint

With Idea Paint you can instantly turn any flat surface into a durable whiteboard for dry erase markers. It’s pretty cool, actually–at the event, they painted two mannequins with IdeaPaint and proceeded to diagram them in dry-erase!

We got a free 50 sq foot sample to play with: I’m thinking of painting either my desk surface or the back of my iPhone with it.

Switch2Health (S2H)

While Switch 2 Health had no product available yet (they’re being manufactured as we speak, and we’ve been promised units when they launch), they are by far one of the most socially conscious startups who presented. The goal of S2H is to incentivize higher rates of physical activity among children, as a way to help stave off the obesity epidemic. Children wear wristbands that measure their activity level (they also function as watches, so you can wear them all the time), and then login to the website to redeem points for ringtones, movies, etc.

Baggu!

The BAGGU reusable shopping bag folds up into a tidy package, small and light enough to fit into a pocket, but rolls out to a strong, durable, and voluminous bag! It’s perfect for shopping or carrying textbooks, and stylish to boot.

Baggu Bags also have their own shop

iChill / Bruise Relief / Wallet Pill Card

So I’m sitting here with three product samples, the iChill sleeping draught (2oz shot) (x1), bruise relief cream (x3) for beat-down bodies, and the Re-Pillable Wallet Pill Card (x2):

Bruise Relief Serum and Re-Pillable Cards on Amazon

The iChill is a blend of Melatonin (5mg), Valerian Root (10mg), Rose Hips (10g) and B Vitamins (2-20mcg), and has not been FDA evaluated. Non active ingredients include Purified water, Natural Flavors, Citric Acid, Potassium Sorbate (preservative), Potassium Benzoate (preservative), and Stevia Brand Sweetener. I’m going to try it this weekend, but I can guarantee it will knock you out given the high concentration of melatonin (1mg does me in @ 150 lbs).

The Buzz Killer

We got a free card which cures GSM buzz, courtesy of The Buzz Killers. The card itself is really pretty! Unfortunately, I have an iPhone 3GS and on the 3G network there’s no GSM interference. Perhaps the next time I visit Somalia and have to work with a crappy GSM network I can test this out. (PS: See the orange in this map? That’s the future, and it’s buzz free…)

At just $5.99 they make great office gifts / stocking stuffers

Altec Lansing Orbit

I have a problem with these little speakers–they’re just not that great. I’d much rather put on a pair of in-ear noise-isolating–but cheap–Shure headphones than blare distorted mono music through an external monopod speaker. The Altec Lansing iM-237 just doesn’t sound good.

Altec Lansing iM-237 Orbit Ultraportable Speaker for MP3 Players (Silver)

Another problem is that this thing comes in a TON of packaging, with lots of useless parts (case, ribbon, u-clip, audible free trial card, manual, other ads, etc). I was also disappoint that the speaker doesn’t come with batteries out of the box. It would be nice to finally have a portable speaker with a built-in battery so you can stop chewing through AAA batteries.

mSpot Movies

Also, if you visit m.Mspot.com on a mobile browser, they have a new streaming movies service. The presenter said they are going live across 30 handsets (iPhone, Pre, etc) over EDGE, WIFI, or 3G. It’s essentially movies on demand; we get to try two movie rentals ($5 each) out.

mSpot’s groundbreaking movie services deliver full-length feature films, TV, concerts and comedy specials through subscription, “on-demand,” and pay-per-view models. mSpot makes the mobile movie magic happen with box-office hits and timeless favorites from Buena Vista VOD, Lionsgate, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment and Universal Pictures.

I’m a bit “meh” about movies on demand. First, I can buy a movie on iTunes, download it and sync it in <5 minutes already. I can do this with a single click as I have an iTunes account and use it to buy music. I know the iTunes movies are in great quality, and their selection has many new releases. So, I don’t see mSpot as being competitive unless they offer subscription pricing and a bigger catalogue. And don’t even get me started on NetFlix, who is in the streaming space too…

Books & Movies

Finally we got a couple of books and movies. Can’t review them yet, but I’m looking forward to checking them out:

Today is the 8th anniversary of the terrorist attacks in New York against the World Trade Center. On September 11, 2001 suicidal jihadists flew fully fueled airplanes into the World Trade Center, the pentagon, and other targets. America’s most gut-wrenching 21st century moment cost 3,000 lives, and permanently scarred the memories of New Yorkers:

In light of the anniversary, it’s worth spending some time to ask yourself “what has America done to make them hate us so much?” Consider the recent imperialist unjust wars fought in Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan, Yugoslavia and the illicit actions of the CIA around the world, or the hundreds of military bases we maintain in other countries. The aid dollars we dole out to dictators to preserve the status quo, our arbitrary tariffs and immigration policies that alienate foreigners, and the eroding of Americans’ own civil liberties in the name of “freedom” and the “war against terror.”

America was once respected as a nation of justice, wisdom, and opportunity. Perhaps over time the Obama administration can repair America’s reputation.

“So, let’s imagine how [the September 11th attacks] could have been worse for example. Suppose that on September 11, Al-Qaeda had bombed the White House and killed the President, instituted a murderous, brutal regime which killed maybe 50,000 to 100,000 people and tortured about 700,000, set up a major international terrorist center in Washington, which was overthrowing governments all over the world, and installing brutal vicious neo-Nazi dictatorships, assassinating people. Suppose he called in a bunch of economists, let’s call them the ‘Kandahar Boys’ to run the American economy, who within a couple of years had driven the economy into one of the worst collapses of its history. Suppose this had happened. That would have been worse than 9/11, right? But it did happen. And it happened on 9/11. That happened on September 11, 1973 in Chile. The only thing you have to change is this per capita equivalence, which is the right way to look at it. Well, did that change the world? Yeah, it did but not from our point of view, in fact, who even knows about it? Incidentally, just to finish, because we [the U.S.] were responsible for that one.” — Noam Chomsky.

Thanks to a 50% off $50 coupon on Groupon I became aware of this cute little place downtown called Color me Mine, where you go to paint pottery. First, you pick your white, unbaked clay piece from a shelf with a large selection. Then, you choose your glazes and colors, and begin painting. When you’re done, your piece is sent to the kiln to be dipped in a clear protective coat and fired. About a week later, you can pick it up!

The reviews on Yelp are overwhelming fantastic–yuppies love this place:

Places that give me options allow me to customize, and they allow me to personalize the product to my tailored desire. When you walk in here, you’re not buying an ‘Off-the-Rack’ ceramic piece; you’re ‘Making it your way.’ This is a great place to create a gift for someone special.

Now, I want you to disregard all the reviews talking about how this is a great place to catch up with your girlfriends. Because painting pottery is manly all the way. So next time you’re going out to a sports bar with your buddies, step up. Be a MAN. Say: “Guys. Screw the game. Let’s go paint ceramic teapots.”

When you first come in, there’s a few tables for painting, and a wall of pottery to choose from on the left. I decided to paint a box and a 1L water jug.

Here’s the jug and my paints, fresh and ready to start. I wrapped some parts of the jug with tape so will be highlights in white!

Halfway through painting the jug. Green handle and bottom. White strips along the sides. Red on top / bottom, blue in the middle. Should come out like some kind of gradient!

Evil box. Black top. Red bottom inside, and the walls are dripping blood!

Update: Less than a week later I got the final results back. Here they are!

I think the jug turned out nicely!

And here’s the box…