Palm Springs Aerial Tramway

TED…a conference where people tell interesting short stories of their experiences in life. These are Ideas Worth Spreading, according to TED’s mission. Ideas Worth Spreading huh? I shall soon confirm.

TED is 50 or so 18 minute “unrehearsed” presentations from some of the biggest names in the world and some that few have ever heard of, all converging at an event said to be spectacular and “life changing.” This is what I’ve garnered from the press, the TED website and confirmed by the TEDsters I know.

Currently, I’m a TEDVirgin. Next week I’m off to Palm Springs (my hometown) for TEDActive. While I wish I was going to Long Beach where the actual event is held, I am only able to attend TEDActive in Palm Springs this year. TEDActive is where TEDWannabees like me pay 2/3 the price of the actual TED Conference in Long Beach and hang out with 399 others and watch the event on TV, live. Sound ridiculous? I for one can’t wait.

For those you that don’t understand the different TEDs, here’s a quick breakdown:

TED
This is the actual conference in Long Beach and is invitation only. 50 live presenters, 18 min each, 4 days, from the Dalai Lama to Bill Gates, about 1400 in attendance, $6k/head.

TEDActive
Held in Palm Springs, this is the live simulcast version where overflow wannabees get to watch and interact with the TED experience at a mere $3800-ish. Tons of events in addition to the presentations coincide and make for great networking with 400 total in attendance.

Here’s how they describe TEDActive:

The swanky, mountain-framed and pool-dappled Riviera Resort in Palm Springs is the backdrop for four days of gripping talks and engrossing TEDActive workshops. We will explore how the next gen in tech, entertainment and design can be brought to bear on “What the World Needs Now …” In this luxurious, brainpower-fueled environment, you’ll enjoy the live-hosted TED2010 program on crisp Sony monitors, you’ll connect with other curious and passionate souls in pre-conference outdoor adventures and campfire-hued meet-and-greets, and if you so desire, you may even step up into the program spotlight during TEDYOU.

TEDx
This is the independent version of TED, where a local group, individual or organization becomes licensed by TED to put on their own mini-TED event. Ours is TEDxAmericanRiviera and will be held on 10/10/10 at 10:10:10am. Cost: almost free.

TEDGlobal
Like TED, but somewhere else in the world like Oxford, UK.

Anyhow, check out www.ted.com for more information. I hope you get a chance to attend a TED event some time in your life. I hear its truly amazing. I’ll let you know in about a week.

Need a few ideas for him? Here’s stuff I love and own myself. You can buy most of them here (I’m paid a commission).

Sonos: Multi-zone music player, plug it in and go and control it with your iPod/iPhone. Plays your digital music, most online services including Rhapsody, Napster, Last.fm, Pandora, Internet radio, you name it! LOVE THIS THING, I have 7 zones, including one poolside. Check out Make It Work if you have questions about this gadget.

Cinemin Swivel: Project your laptop or iPhone on any wall. Brilliant, but I’m still waiting for the laptop attachment to ship. Works great with iPhone for now! You can buy this on Amazon.

Lululemon Cruiser Backpack: It doesn’t get much better than this road warrior. Pockets for everything, even toothbrush. One of the most intelligently designed gadget carriers I’ve ever seen (and I’ve tried many)! Go to a Lululemon store or visit their site. These are very hard to find, so good luck and let me know if you love it or not.

Here’s where you can buy my favorite products (I’m paid a commission):

And here’s a few books to buy for him on Amazon (I’m paid a commission):

Should any of your gadgets break or you need onsite computer repair this year, visit Make It Work!

So, I’m starting to get the hang of this bloggin thing.  I have to say, that it feels great to put my thoughts down in a place where I can get some critical feedback and hopefully not anger anyone in the process.  I will keep it brief, but I wanted to add some more color to the week…here we go…

I saw U2 this past Sunday night with the wife.  Also in attendance was my ex and our 12 year old son Jacob.  Jacob is learning the guitar and is getting pretty good at it.  He has the Slash signed model of a Les Paul along with a Mexican built Stratocaster.  He will get the US version after he proves he will stick with it.  Anyhow, so he and his mom are at U2, the wife and I are there but sitting pretty far back.  Jacob and his mom are in GA/Field and standing near the stage.  The Black Eyed Peas get on stage and were amazing.  Most of the U2 fans where thinking, “wait, there are black/asian/hispanic people on the stage singing hip hop, will there be a riot?” They didn’t dance, they just watched and told themselves to be patient, U2 would be on soon.  Then Slash walks onto the stage.  Remember, my son has a Slash guitar.  He had to be going nuts (later I found out he was) and Fergie and Slash sang “Sweet Child of Mine.”  Epic moment in our lives.  I was happier for Jacob than for myself (at least that’s the story I’m telling).

After a great performance by BEP and long wait in the line at the bathroom, a beer, some chicken strips and fries, U2 shows up and really got the place going.  This is why most had come. As a long time U2 fan, I thought BEP was pretty amazing and actually enjoyed it as much if not more than U2.  Now let me clarify my position.  I’ve been a U2 fan since I was a kid, from their first MTV video “Gloria” and every song and album since (except the latest one, bleh). I saw U2 24 years ago in a tiny theater of 3,000 people in downtown Cleveland. They returned to sell out the Richfield Coliseum only a few months later.  This is when they went from small underground new wave band, to top 40 icon in the making.  I was lucky to see them then.  I saw the Pop tour 10 years or so ago and now the 360 degree tour.  Both were amazing, but more of a production than a concert.  Don’t get me wrong, I loved it, but the rocket ship and the shear size of the stage and speaker stacks were over the top.  The music however was still fantastic.

After the concert, we walked two miles to our car in Old Town Pasadena.  We stopped and had a midnight pizza at a great little spot on the way.  Then, we hopped in the car and drove to the Ritz-Carlton in Marina Del Rey to get some sleep before the Perfect Pitch Conference the next morning with Sir Richard Branson as the keynoter and Christian Audigier (Von Dutch/Ed Hardy) as the closing speaker.  It was quite a day.

To The Moon!

-Eric Greenspan

If you’ve ever received an email from me, you’d know that I always sign my emails with “to the moon.”  Borrowed from The Honeymooners, I’m shooting for the moon in my business venture.  There really isn’t much else to it.

Just a reminder to myself of my goals and ambitions.

I’m the CEO of Make It Work, Inc. We make stuff work “from computers to iPods to home theater.”  Our fleet of Mini Coopers are cruising all over Socal.  It’s a fun company, but customer acquisition is the biggest challenge we face.  We have 34,000 customers already, but we need more more more.  Our Tech News radio show on both CBS and ABC radio networks are going great.  Check out www.cbstechnews.com or www.abctechnews.com.

Anyhow, for more on that visit www.makeitwork.com or my about page.

Today I spent learning as I usually do.  I typically spend my mornings in emails, then a few calls, then I tweet, then I check and respond to Facebook and Linkedin.  Throughout the day, I typically refresh our new customer tracking to see how many new customers have been booked for the day.  Tweetdeck and Yammer are always running in the background.  It’s a little overwhelming at times, but I’m getting it down.  If not at my desk, I have my iPhone in one hand and my Blackberry in the other.  I call and email using my Blackberry and I tweet, Facebook, and the rest on my iPhone.  It’s a bit much, I know, but when the company sells, they both go in the ocean.

This week has been amazing.  I spent Sunday night at the U2/Black Eyed Peas concert and awoke on Monday to attend the Perfect Pitch with keynoter Sir Richard Branson.  Pretty cool day.  Met a guy you might know named Lewis Howes, who sat on a social media panel and gave some great info.  Lewis is a meager 26, 15 years my younger, but the kid knows things.  Since we are both from Ohio, we had a nice chat and became friends.  I need his help, but I hope he knows I’ll return the favor whenever and wherever possible.

The next day was the 140 Conference at the Kodak Theater.  I couldn’t make it (appointment at the OBGYN with the wife, 3 mos!) but our Director of Clever Ashley went.  She came back Tweeting like a bird…great experience for her and we are lucky to have her on the team.  She get’s really excited about her job, which is the key at Make It Work.  We have this employees first, customers next philosophy.  I think she gets that.

So Thurs rolls around and I’m all about using my new found skills from the PP and Ashley’s from the 140 and meet with the team to discuss the next marketing step.  We need to tie our tweets, FB posts and emails into a blog.  A sort of repository for all we do.  Our customers seem to like the info we send them, so now we will make it easier to find the history of every message we send in the blog.  In addition, all team members are starting their own blogs, this is mine.  Our hope is to bring our personal experiences into the company blog and build a great, human, technical, information system that our customer, partners and competitors will enjoy and find useful.

Anyhow, this is the beginning.  Let me know if you think I’m wasting my time.

To The Moon!

-Eric Greenspan

P.S. During all the haps this week, our dog was rushed to the vet with a limp on his rear right leg.  Seems ok now, hope its not a chronic, age related problem.  Oh, and we think we are having a girl.  That’s all the doc could tell us.  Guess she saw some girlie parts on the ultrasound.  Can you see girlie parts?