listen out loud

and now, a brief pause

2007-05-20T01:28:00.000-07:00

One of our BD guys, Pooj Preena, called me tonight. He and I are tight and talk quite often, so it's not unexpected to get a call from him on Monday at 7 a.m. or Saturday at noon. I love talking to him.

This time, I ignored his call. My hands were elbow-deep in dishwater, getting ready for a weekend food foray. A few minutes later, I called him back.

He has a spare ticket for the Prince concert tonight. His wife isn't up to par, and he, Michael, and Michael's wife are headed out soon to the party.

I look over at my daughter -- all sassy, smart, and sometimes-still-clingy 12 years of her -- and for one half-second consider the sitter.

This is the girl who's endured me as I've worked every night for months. This is the girl who hints at her desire for my company by simply saying, from the other room, "Hey, a new show is on!" This is the girl who is fast becoming a young woman, the baby who threw up down my tie 11 years ago, the toddler to whom I gave a horrible, slanted hair cut with dull scissors when she was three and we were just starting out together by ourselves.

"I can't go, Pooj -- no way I can get a sitter on this short of notice."

That was true.

Equally true is that fact that there's no way I would've wanted to hire one.

Instead, she and I laughed and cuddled and had fun like it was 1999, watching bad TV re-runs.

Thanks, Poojay -- hope you guys had fun, too.

here, there, everywhere with jangl

2007-05-17T23:20:00.000-07:00

And you thought I died.

Never.

Jangl was today named as one of 12 "Connected Innovators" at Supernova 2007, Kevin Werbach's and Michael Arrington's huge deal in late June in SF. Classy guys. (Thanks to them for hearing out "what Jangl is now" versus "what we'll be in a few weeks." We are truly honored and looking forward to the mixer next week, too, so hit us up if you want to talk.
Jangl was awarded as a Red Herring 100 winner last month. Again, we're pleased to be part of the crowd, and part of the legacy overall. Michael went to Monterey and it sucked I couldn't join, because I love that place.
The Tagged and TypePad deals have been amazing for us -- numbers through the roof. Both groups have been a total pleasure to work with -- it still fascinates me to see how other internal teams operate, myself having spent so long on the agency end. But these guys were great. Kudos to Rudy and Ginger.
And another deal of which I cannot speak yet -- but keep your ears tuned.
And in the run-up to a pending launch, CEOs and CTOs and everyone else wanting answers, directions, guidance, background, pictures, spreadsheets, phone numbers. . .did I mention I freaking love this job? Too many interviews to count.

Now you want the grist, right?

I used to thrive on personal connections with bloggers in particular, but I don't have the hours to do this properly anymore. Help! We've always prided ourselves on"touching" each personally, because that's the way it oughta be done. Logistics are starting to preclude that.
One blogger in particular continues to "accidentally" violate NDAs. Cmon, folks. I'm only asking that everyone be put on fair, equal ground. I don't want to hear excuses. Play fair, or don't play at all. Cool?
I guess, when I was agency-side, I sent some "vendor emails." I'd like to think they were constructive and concise and relevant. Tell you what: on the "in-house" side, the deluge is stunning. Even more so, the ramrod, slipshod, "no, i-have-no-clue-what-your-company-does" approach is rampant. Ninety-nine percent of vendors kill themselves with the very first contact. Delete.

One last thing: there's a FNG at Jangl (although not so new): Aaron Burcell, who comes most recently from Podshow and, before that Stata Labs (think Bloomba). One of the best and brightest, and a guy who "gets" corp comm and PR. Hallelujah. He's been nailing stuff up ever since he joined.

Train's moving fast. I'll try to keep up.

Extra Extra: Check Out the New Jangl Widget and Call Me?

2007-03-20T23:56:00.000-07:00

Jangl's looking for folks to try our new widget, give us feedback, and talk to us about what's coming in the next few weeks.

Where can you find the new widget? Look over to the right and plop in your cell phone number, then hit "Go." Then call the number that appears.

With the stuff we have coming between now and June, I'm looking at getting people up to speed again, after weeks of being heads-down at work. If you've chatted with us before, Jangl me with the widget or drop me a note. Otherwise, trust that I'll be in touch very, very soon.

In the near-term, we'll try to use your feedback to improve the widget before we announce some new stuff next month and beyond. At the same time, we want to give you the whole story, too, because the widget makes more sense that way.

If you haven't chatted with us before, but want to, the same applies. Our doors are open 24x7.

And if you happen to be around Pulver's Spring VON in San Jose this week, Michael Cerda is presenting at the Solutions Theater (Booth 1431) Wednesday at 2:15 p.m., and again on a panel at 1 p.m. on Thursday. We hope to have some video up as early as tomorrow night. I'll update here.

Update: If you want to get your own widget, you need to go here and sign-up (don't worry, it's easy and -- for now -- free). If you simply want more info about the widget, go here.

Love Food Network? Hate Food Network?

2007-02-24T23:43:00.000-08:00

Either way, this is hysterical.

Foodie author Michael Ruhlman let former Food TV chef Anthony Bourdain guest-blog a while back, and here's what Tony had to say about the current state of FoodTV.

The buzz around this is terrific.

I'm personally hoping Sandra Lee shaves her head and goes into rehab.

Been Away Too Long

2007-02-24T23:26:00.000-08:00

I knew this day was gonna come.

I knew, when I started this blog, that there were going to be times I just wanted to spill the beans about what's to come at Jangl.

And I know what you're thinking: "Of course he says that. He's a Jangl evangelist."

But seriously.

I mean it.

Today was finally a day to decompress a bit, hang with Daughter, sample a very cool NY-style pizza place right down the boulevard, and replenish the closet at the daunting Valley Fair.

But all of this came after a week of messaging, planning, watching engineering unveil some very cool new stuff, hearing MC closing new deals just a few feet from my cube, and getting down into the trenches with my new boss (yes, it's likely you've heard of him -- but more on that another time).

Lots of work to do. Lots. Despite this, I'll be better about staying in touch here.

For now, however, this past week was like the relentless click-clack-click of a roller-coaster slowly going uphill. It seems slow and easy, but it's pure effort, and all the real fun is on the other side.

Wanna come along? Subscribe. If you don't, well, then don't say I didn't warn you.

Roam4Free is Getting a Makeover

2007-02-15T19:58:00.000-08:00

My friend Pat runs Roam4Free and recently put out the call for help with his website, promising a pocket PC to the person with the best advice. The winner was Richard Hearne, an SEO, SEM and internet marketing consultant with Red Cardinal.

I don't know Richard, but I read his winning advice to Pat, and it's a great read.

V2V: Text for Wine

2007-02-15T19:13:00.000-08:00

Though a foodie, I'm not much of a wine conniseu. . .conno. . .I'm not much of a wino.

But when I read Ted's post about a new "wine meets phone" deal, I had to try it out, so I texted "vino 2002 gallo" to 44636. The response, courtesy of 4INFO? "2002 Gallo of Sonoma, Chardonnay Sonoma County Reserve, V2V-79 (corky, musty)." In talking with Ted, I learned that V2V-79 is not a new bird flu variant but rather a "wine score" -- not too super, in this case, which is further explained by adjectives like "corky" and "musty." Later, I texted "vino 2001 sangiovese" and received multiples options, with my friends Corky and Musty nowhere to be found.

Wouldn't it be cool if a wine-moron like me could somehow crunch a recipe into a box, click "Go," and have the recipe intelligently analyzed, with wine recommendations coming out the other side? Heck, I'd settle for easily browsing my recipe collection from my phone -- a virtual shopping list for those moments when inspiration hits only after I've arrived at the produce section.

What's cool is that Jangl will, over time, be doing a lot of very nifty SMS functions that will essentially allow you to really personalize your phone experience. So say tuned for that.

In the meantime, text for wine. It's the coolest little "wine tool" since. . .um. . .me.

To Andy Abramson

2007-02-15T00:05:00.000-08:00

A couple of months ago, I made a snarky comment about a guy who deserves more respect than that -- Andy Abramson. Basically, I posted a comment on a thread that put Andy in a bad light. It was a stupid comment to make -- I knew it when I wrote it, but my emotions got the best of me. And it's honestly been gnawing at me ever since I posted it.

Just a few nights ago, I finally felt I had to approach Andy about it. I apologized as best as one can over IM, and Andy was a total gentleman about it. We hashed it through and, I hope, buried the hatchet.

Even though this might be "inside baseball" to some, I'm posting this apology here online because my comment was made online as well -- fair is fair, in my book.

Thank you for what you do, and thank you for being willing to hear me out, Andy.

I truly apologize.

Love is in the Air. . .In 36 Days

2007-02-13T20:56:00.000-08:00

Say what you want about Valentine's Day, but Spring is really the season of love, is it not? So what the hell -- we're going to have some fun with this before Spring comes along.

Let me explain.

One of the cool things that Jangl does is to let two people talk on the phone without ever giving out their private phone number. That is, your real phone, not some head-set or other gizmo. Right now, it's free, and works on any U.S. phone.

This comes in handy in lots of different ways -- if you're buying or selling something, if you're posting your resume online, if you blog or keep a social networking profile and want other people to connect to you via your phone instead of IM or endless emails.

But the most obvious use is dating, whether using Match.com or out clubbing. That's why Match actually uses Jangl to let its subscribers connect via phone, securely (though its free and easy to get Jangl directly without being a Match member).

Why is this important? If you're emailing or chatting online, you want a secondary step -- before the in-person meeting -- that lets you better judge your potential mate. If you're out and want to stay in touch with a new acquaintance, it's probably better to give them your Jangl ID instead of a phone, simply to avoid being phalked (phone + stalked).

So. . .in honor of the unattached Valentine's Day haters still seeking that special someone, we're gonna throw a little party.

I need your best tips on how to have a good phone conversation.

You see, I was never really good at it. Most conversations of my youth went like this:

Me: "Hi."

Her: "Hi."

Me: "So. What are you doing?"

Her: "Not much. What are you doing?"

That won't work here. This is, in fact, largely responsible for my still being single.

The whole point of being able to talk without giving your real number is that you can be yourself. And being yourself involves being a good conversationalist, so people can see the real you -- and so you can see the real "them."

Some tips:

Pair up with a friend -- opposite sex or same sex -- and think this through. Then, have one of you submit a comment as a team.

Be original. A Google search turns up a lot of advice skewed toward players, a little that's more-or-less neutral, and some that is downright retro and office-oriented. If you're going to repurpose something, then give credit and put your own, personal spin on it.

Think about you on the phone, with a new "somebody." How would you get over a little awkwardness? How would you share yourself, and what would you want to hear from the other person?

Want to try it first? Look over in my sidebar for the "Jangl Me" widget. Click it. Call me. I'll never get your real number, and you'll never get mine (an even better widget is coming soon).
If you're really shy, email me with your tip(s) here.

The top 10 tips will be posted here on March 11 -- just in time for Spring. You may win something very cool. Maybe you'll just get really smart about phone conversations. We'll see.

So go tell someone and send me your ideas already!

Edwards Made "Common Sense" Blunder with Marcotte

2007-02-12T20:41:00.000-08:00

So Amanda Marcotte resigned from the John Edwards campaign, and this is actually relevant for anyone in communications.

As much as I feel that this country needs to head in an entirely different direction, this Marcotte/Edwards issue has nothing to do with right wing vs. left wing, conservative vs. liberal, or free speech.

It's only peripherally related to blogging.

It has a lot more to do with common sense.

When any employer makes a hire, that employer hires the whole package -- work history, yes, but increasingly (right or wrong) credit reports, health history, and more. In American politics, the picture becomes even fuzzier. In that arena, association is everything: association with every person you've encountered, with every decision you've made.

And when one is asked to vote for someone -- for President of the U.S., no less -- anyone with common sense not only looks at the candidate him/herself, but those decisions that he or she has made, directly or by association. That's called evaluating judgement, which is probably (in my humble view anyway) the single greatest criterion to consider when deciding on a candidate.

Edwards showed extraordinarily bad judgement. He made it ridiculously easy for his opponents, irrespective of the transient, hollow nature of their arguments.

As for Marcotte? She just proves the point that is endlessly (and patronizingly) taught with wagging fingers to the younger crowd these days: in a nutshell, be careful what you blog about, because it might hurt your chances for employment later.

(My bet? Marcotte survives this better than Edwards.)

So how does this relate to PR and corp comm? More often than not, corporate communications needs to have some input on a wide range of business decisions. That includes hiring. Sometimes it's not just about "work history" but about the horse to which you hitch your wagon.

Edwards' comm folks should've had some input here. Or maybe they did?

If so, it didn't show.

Markus, Mark and Jangl @ Community Next

2007-02-11T22:37:00.000-08:00

One more quick Community Next snapshot, very specific to Jangl, was Plentyoffish founder Markus Frind hanging out all morning with dating site analyst Mark Brooks, who also represents several vendors, including Vumber (note claims made in that post, and my comments following).

Ironically, Mark also has a nice interview with Match.com CEO Jim Safka, in which Safka talks about how popular the matchTalk service [powered by Jangl] has been.

Today, there are some interesting thoughts going on over at Markus' blog about social networking vs. dating sites.

But. . .based on Saturday alone. . .how long until Plentyoffish users have to use Vumber?

C'mon, Markus (or any Plentyoffish customer). Jangl us. My widget is over in the sidebar.

Wink.

The Police Quiz: Can You Rank Them?

2007-02-11T18:54:00.000-08:00

In honor of The Police reuniting for tonight's Grammy Awards and -- fingers crossed -- possibly touring this year, we're going to play a little game.

Below are five songs by The Police, in no particular order. Your mission is to rank them, from top hit to lesser hit, according to how they once ranked on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. (It is assumed that nobody here will use any resource other than their brain -- play fair!)

First correct reply wins $25 from Amazon.

- Every Little Thing She Does is Magic

- Don't Stand So Close to Me

- Every Breath You Take

- Roxanne

- Spirits in the Material World

Have fun and enjoy the show!

My Thoughts on Community Next

2007-02-10T23:59:00.000-08:00

I spent the day at Community Next at Stanford on a grey, drizzly Saturday. Jangl had sponsored, and thus had a table there and a five minute presentation by Michael.

Woke at 6 a.m. and roused my daughter. She was okay with spending the day at her cousin's house, but not thrilled with the early wake-up. Just like Dad.

Hug and smooch and we said our goodbyes. She threw her arm around my neck and hugged me -- that was nice.

Our table was pretty jammed up all day -- that's a good thing, of course. A long, fluoro-lit hallway, with offshoots to the main auditorium and the "masticating room," deemed such by the young and insanely optomistic CN organizers. The room was loaded with bagels and coffee and other beverages of all sorts. Noah and his massive crew wore bright orange shirts and were everywhere. Everywhere. At one point, I went to the restroom and half-expected an orange shirt to be standing there saying, "Was that okay? Do you feel better?" Amazing hosts in all the right ways.

Highlights:

Threadless: Jeffrey and Jake talking about their Four Commandments. (Your Project is Not Good Enough)

Noah's morning routine, waking everyone up. "I had a girlfriend in high school -- she cheated on me several times. . .she was apparently VERY interested in community/people."

Josh and Aaron, of Spear Creative Group and Brandplay, respectively. Bordered on too-cute sometimes, but ended up being damned nice. Congrats and thank you.

Mark Jacobstein of loopt -- nice job, nice app. Seems like a killer fit for Jangl, too.

Top thing? Meeting tons of Great People (communitizing?). Folks like AOL, ActiveVibe, Meetro, WSJ, grad students doing amazing things, and many more. Thanks to Jeremy for all of the intros to the people I'm too stupid to know already.

Lowlights:

Honestly? Tara Hunt was nearly incoherent. Several walked out, including me. I heard from at least 10 people later that day that she was, umm. Whatever. I don't like people who overpromote when they can't deliver -- and she's apparently talking a lot these days. But, Gross Domestic Product in her presentation? Right. I'm sure to incite flames here, since she's the speaker du jour.

Catered lunch by Hukilau was great, but the line was wayyyy long. I ditched it only to find that Tresidder (student cafeteria) was already overloaded with a bunch of high school debate team members queued up at two Subways. Texted my daughter, who'd been with a sitter all day -- "You okay? I love ya." No response. Returned to Community Next buffet in the drizzle -- cold Hawaiian bbq -- yum.

A rainy, gloomy day with tons of life exploding inside Annenberg Auditorium. The vibe was extraordinarily positive, friendly, and collaborative. You get the sense that many of these folks are thinking Big Thoughts, and that a few will succeed spectacularly.

Drove home in the rain and dusk, missing my daughter but utterly fired up about what I'd witnessed today. Fielded about five phone calls on the way home. Made about eight.

And then decompressed with my girl over dinner. I'd picked her up and she was craving sushi. As I'd neglected her all day, I granted her wish, of course. We were watching little boats go round and round. The Community Next cocktail hour was in progress, 20 miles north, but Jangl had it covered, and the day was almost done.

"Did your day go okay?" she asked, grabbing a shrimp tempura.

"It did, sweetie. Thank you for asking."

"Did you talk in front of a bunch of people again?"

She equates this with "stardom," of course. I'm obviously no star -- my job is to do that for others.

"I talked to a ton of great people, but no, not in front of a crowd. I just did my thing. It was a good day. But tell me more about yours. . ."

She sighed a little. Maybe it was just my paranoia that heard it. Is Dad boring?

She threw her arm around my neck and smooched my cheek.

And then she told me more about her day.

Just like I've told you about mine.

Thanks, Noah and team and everyone.

Former MobileCrunch Writer Oliver Starr -- New Blog?

2007-02-09T21:37:00.000-08:00

Andy and Christine are two big bloggers who covered the fact that Oliver Starr -- the mobile guru formerly of Michael Arrington's Crunch properties over at MobileCrunch -- is joining Chris Shipley's Guidewire Group.

So with way too much time on my hands, I did some digging. If you check out a WHOIS filed for mobilestarr (dot) com, you see Oliver himself, filed just a few days ago.

I haven't had a chance yet to confirm this with Oliver directly, but it certainly appears that he is ready to spread his wings again -- and not just with Guidewire.

Another source confirms he's staying at Foldera, too.

Kudos to Oliver. Stay tuned.

Q&A: Noah Kagan and Community Next

2007-02-08T21:12:00.000-08:00

Since joining Jangl in July, I've had the good fortune to meet a lot of very smart and very kind folks, and I hope to write about as many as possible in the coming months. But this time around, the spotlight is on Noah Kagan, who is not only very smart and kind, but uber-creative, tireless, funny, optomistic and inspiring, as well.

Noah formerly worked at Facebook and Intel in product management and marketing roles, and currently consults with online personal finance site MyMint. His blog is rife with juicy, random marketing ideas and thoughts on having meaningful conversations, but also serves as a shared pulpit for those who want to get and give advice. This blog truly does have a community feel, and it is a helluva fun read. (Noah also likes burritos, which means he needs to see my post below, even though he's a good ol' South Bay native like yours truly.)

But first and foremost these days, Noah is spearheading one of Silicon Valley's most-anticipated events, the Community Next gathering in Palo Alto this Friday and Saturday. When Jangl caught wind of the event, it was an utter no-brainer that we were there, so we jumped onboard as a sponsor immediately. Michael will be joining the VIP dinner at Il Fornaio on Friday night, and taking the stage at the event on Saturday shortly after lunch (tent.). We're fortunate to be in good company, with folks like Guy Kawasaki, Tara Hunt, and Markus Frind, and companies like Offermatica, Slide, VideoEgg, and Pat and team's Roam4Free.

But Community Next wouldn't be happening without Noah Kagan, and he was kind enough to talk with us a little bit despite his crazed schedule.

TJ: You must be slammed right now. What's your typical day/night been like in the last few weeks? (Stream of consciousness permitted!)

NK: I wake up around 10 a.m. Go to work at MyMint. They know I am doing the conference and are extremely supportive so during the day I make calls (to you), coordinate things and get the work I promised them I would do. Leave the office around 8 - 9 p.m. and go to the gym for my marathon training (Mar 4, Napa Valley Marathon). Leave around 11 p.m. and then go home and work on the conference until 3:30 - 5 a.m. It is early at 2:15 a.m. today but won't sleep until later. :)

TJ: You once wrote that Facebook was one of the top 9 companies it was cool to say you worked for. Is it cooler now to say you used to work for them?

NK: I think it always cool to say you work(ed) at Facebook. They are more respected now which is nice for me. I think to work there might be different now with so many people and more policies to follow.

TJ: At VentureBeat last year, you advised community "stewards" to think about two things. 1) Are you involving or considering your community members when you move forward with your business and 2) Are you making an effort to strengthen, empower and/or possibly create your community?" Do you have any examples of folks who are doing the best jobs in those two areas right now?

NK: Wow. Deep stuff. I wouldn't say I am a community expert and anyone who does I would question. I think a lot about community is authenticity and just knowing your personal and communal needs. I think Meebo has done a great job. Ted (Rheingold) from Dogster (ed: also a Community Next sponsor) is great at keeping people updated, listening to his user and acting on it. I don't think enough sites empower their audience. This is giving them tools to promote, the right tools for their needs (running log for a running community, measurements for a clothing community, etc.). It is late so my answers could be incomprehensible but I would stick to what I said.

TJ: Community Next succeeds beyond your wildest dreams -- what exactly does that look like?

NK: What it looks like now! It has really blown me away at this point, the waiting list for tickets, sponsor involvement and everyone chipping in. My ultimate goal is that everyone has fun and we have a high percentage of attendees/sponsors who want to come back next year.

TJ: Any tricks up your sleeve after Community Next? WNFN (What's next for Noah?)

NK: Just working on MyMint and seeing if me and the crew are going to plan another shindig. I am going to keep training for my marathon March 4 and rest for a bit after that. And by resting I mean a day or two. :)

Nice job, Noah Kagan and team. Looking forward to Saturday!

Wrong Lyrics

2007-02-07T20:34:00.000-08:00

When I was in kindergarten, for weeks our class rehearsed songs for a Mother's Day tribute, a huge deal which would be attended by (surprise) everyone's mother. One of the tunes was, "Mother's Make a Home."

All the while during rehearsals, I sang the line, "Mother's may go home," completely confused why we'd even bother inviting them if we were, in fact, sending them back home.

I think I finally decided that it was our closing number.

A few years later, I couldn't understand why The Eagles' Desperado was "painting his hunger."

Years later, a buddy of mine related how, when he was a kid, his parents were a little freaked to hear him singing a Madonna hit: "Gonna dress you up in nylons. . .all over, all over."

Just a few years ago, my daughter heard The Corrs' "Breathless" on the radio, and promptly went around for weeks singing, "Go on, go on, come on, leave a breathmint."

(Yes, the fact that she was even exposed to this is horrible -- I'm a lousy parent.)

What songs did you botch? C'mon. Be honest.

New York, iPods & Clueless in for a Street Fight

2007-02-07T20:27:00.000-08:00

New York State Senator Carl Kruger is set to propose legislation that would ban the use of iPods, mobile phones, and similar devices while crossing streets in New York.

I took a look for the proposed legislation here, but it's not up yet.

But I have three fundamental questions:

1) Tactically. . .what if you're wearing the headphones or the Bluetooth, but the volume is down? Should we also police hats pulled down over the ears?

2) Is the point here to protect the talker/listener, or those who might run into them? I imagine that the politically-correct answer is "everyone," but there's probably more concern here (and rightly so) for the lives of citizens than a traffic delay or a cracked windshield.

3) But at the risk of sounding like a jerk, do we really need another attempt to legislate against stupidity? Seriously, if you cannot figure out that you should be paying extreme attention while crossing a street in Manhattan (or elsewhere), you'll probably find yourself a different, early off-ramp anyway. How many other things are we not paying attention to, while we concern ourselves with preserving the clueless?

What Would Darwin Say?

Update: Turner and Interference to Pay $2M

2007-02-05T08:54:00.000-08:00

The story is here.

"Turner Broadcasting, a division of Time Warner Inc., and Interference Inc. also will issue a public statement accepting full responsibility and apologizing for the incident."

Hopefully, they're just read the statement and not go posting it under freeway overcrossings.

Dinner

2007-02-04T01:23:00.000-08:00

Bliss.

With some pecorino or parm, even more bliss.

Boston Bomb Scare: What About Interference?

2007-02-03T23:23:00.000-08:00

So Turner Broadcasting and Cartoon Network and a few idiots hooked up to terrorize Boston in the name of marketing. Turner has agreed to pay. The two guys who hung the signs were arrested the other day.

My question is: how come the agency involved isn't being held accountable?

Sure, Interference has probably been fired by Turner/Cartoon Network. But is that punishment enough?

Right now, they have this on their site.

PR meets guerrilla marketing, I suppose.

The idiot who advocated this at Interference ought to be ponying up, too. It galls me that some anonymous "creative director" can stir the pot while Turner pays and two hired contractors get arrested.

Where's Interference? Well, no management names on their site right now.

If you go to archive.org, you'll see Sam Travis Ewen, CEO, 212-995-8553, Sam@interferenceinc.com, as of late 2004, before their site got all glommed up.

Tried to phone him last night -- it went right to voicemail.

Weekend Food: Bolognese. . .er, Sugo. . .er, Tomato and Meat Sauce

2007-02-03T21:20:00.000-08:00

If you're not interested in cooking or food, you should skip this post.

I'm a total junkie when it comes to cooking and food. That doesn't mean I'm any good at the former, though I'm pretty decent at the latter. In particular, I'm a huge fan of Italian food -- this despite the fact that I've never been to Italy.

But over the past ten years, as my interest in cooking grew, I cooked more, acquired more hardware in the form of pots and pans and useless gadgets, more software in the form of innumerable bookmarks and cookbooks, and several more burns and cuts than is normal for any human being except one.

And I've developed a peculiar (for me) left-brain way of doing things.

After reading and viewing and researching a recipe, I make what seems to me an agreed-upon "classic" version. I write this up in a Word document and deem it 1.0. And I take serious notes after that, create a new, 2.0 version, and try that. And the note-taking and testing repeats.

Yes. It's weird. I understand that. It's only been exacerbated by working at Jangl.

So I'm well-aware that the "bolognese sauce" I'm making tonight is inauthentic. A "real" bolognese features very little tomato -- in fact, in final form, it usually appears less as a "sauce" and more like a finely-chopped or ground meat bound together by a flavorful glaze, with only the smallest blush of tomato-red. It also generally shuns garlic and includes pancetta.

But there a million variations. Some might be deemed authentic, and others not. Probably only the Bolognese know best. And I haven't met them yet.

Me? I'm on variation 6.0 (below), preparing for tomorrow's Super Bowl. I like tomatoes and garlic, so they're plentiful here. This is an amalgam of Marcella Hazan, Lynne Rossetto Kasper, Mario Batali (gasp), and folks like Elise at SimplyRecipes and Cook's Illustrated (sub required for the recipe).

Yes, it takes a long time, and it kills. The veal adds everything and, yes, I feel guilty. Best over al dente campanelle, because those little chewy tubas collect and hold the sauce perfectly. I like it with a grating of pecorino romano, but taste it first to see if it's for you -- it's pretty heady stuff.

The pot pictured above is my weapon of choice -- a 12 quart, stainless steel, thick-bottomed target. You could get away with a 7-quart pot. I just like a lot of room.

1/4 cup olive oil

1/3 cup butter

2 yellow onions, minced

3 carrots, coarsely grated
3 stalks celery, minced

1 1/2 tbl. fresh thyme leaves, minced
20 ounces ground sirloin

14 ounces ground pork

14 ounces ground veal

1 cup 2 percent milk
1/2 cup heavy cream

1 tsp. kosher salt

1 tsp. ground black pepper
2 (28-ounce) cans San Marzano crushed tomatoes, not drained

1 2/3 cups Sangiovese

6 garlic cloves, minced

1 bay leaf, torn
parmigiano reggiano rind (optional)

white sugar
kosher salt
beef broth
1/3 cup Italian parsley, chopped

Heat the butter and oil in a large, heavy pot to medium heat. Add onion, carrots, celery and thyme, and cook for about 15 minutes. Boost the heat to medium-high, add the meat in chunks and break up/stir occasionally, cooking until grey. Lower the heat to medium, add the milk and cream and simmer, stirring fairly frequently, for about 30 minutes.

Add the salt, pepper, tomatoes, wine, garlic, bay leaf and parm rind (optional). Bring to a gentle boil, and then reduce heat to simmer or low and cook uncovered about 5 hours. Stir about every half hour.

At about the two hour mark, use a ladle to carefully skim off fat and discard it.

At the 5 hour mark, add the sugar and salt to taste. If too thin, boost heat, stirring frequently, until at desired consistency. If too thick, add beef broth in small amounts, cooking until at desired thickeness. Just before finishing, add parsley, stir well, and serve or store.

Your basic soffrito -- onions, celery and carrots (grated) -- with thyme. When the oil and butter are nice and hot, add this.

Simmer those babies for about 15 minutes over medium heat.

After you've browned the meat, add the milk and cream. Once it mostly evaporates, it should look like this.

People Happen: Shel Israel Meets with Jangl

2007-02-03T20:34:00.000-08:00

Once we were all jammed into the Jangl conference room for our talk with Shel, it was only right to do introductions. Shel asked each person to discuss whether or not they already blogged and, if not, if and why they might try it in the future. A pretty benign question, right?

A few were there as an academic exercise. They wanted to hear what Shel and others had to say. Fair enough.

Another revealed a passionate interest in World Cup soccer. Apparently, he moderates communities of like-minded fans -- communities that number in the hundreds, if not thousands. Wow. Who knew? Perhaps he'll use blogging to cultivate that community, he said.

One of our finest engineers -- a brilliant, incisive guy who fortunately has become, to me, a friend -- locked in with Shel. As is typical when I speak with this engineer, he was able to strip away blogging and communities to their core. . .he talked in almost ontological terms, discussing communities and connections like they were organisms (they are, I'm learning). Soon my head began to hurt, as I struggled to keep up. This particular friend of mine is a guy who breezes between philosophy, mathematics, sociology, and music like a skilled driver selecting the appropriate gear. Shel seemed to get it totally. I was a little lost -- but awed nonetheless.

Another dodged the question completely, but lasered right in: which U.S. political party has best used blogging to its advantage? For the few of us who are aware of the political leanings present in that room, it was a stunning -- almost provocative -- question. Both Shel and the questioner had viewpoints to espouse and defend, and they did, in a crisp exchange that had everyone leaning forward, listening, listening.

The team here gathers everyday, in varying groups both larger and small, to talk about work, Jangl, the market, the service. We gather over lunch for usually light and random discussions. But what I learned yet again that day was interesting: that when you stick a bunch of smart people into a room and raise a wholly-new and unexplored topic, there's no telling what you'll learn.

It was like holding old, familiar gems up against a light and an entirely different angle, and seeing them for the first time. And as saccharin as that sounds, that's exactly how it felt. Fucking amazing.

The one person who struck me most deeply? A young woman who matter-of-factly put her hands on her knees, looked down for a moment, and said in a soft voice, "I don't have anything to say. I work. I come home and raise my daughter. And that's it. I don't know what I'd say."

Of course she has something to say.

Doesn't she?

Shel Israel and Jangl on Blogging

2007-02-01T21:10:00.000-08:00

Since mid-fall, Shel Israel and Jangl have been talking blogging, thanks to Pat Phelan, who made the introduction late last summer. Shel, as most of the blogosphere already knows, is a prolific, insightful blogger and co-author with Robert Scoble of one of the pre-eminent books on business blogging, Naked Conversations.

The initial idea of sitting with Shel was to take Michael's blog to the next level, though we all knew that I was going to have to get off my ass, too. So Shel gave Michael a ton of good tips and I listened intently. Michael took the tips to heart and made it happen on his blog, and all the while, Shel provided him great feedback, sometimes in meetings, sometimes via late-night email on which I was sometimes copied.

I listened intently.

It wasn't long before Shel swept his gaze my way. I can't remember exactly, but I'll be damned if he wasn't peering over his glasses in utter paternal disapproval.

"What about you?" he asked.

I -- ahem -- listened intently. Beyond that, I'll spare you the details, and spare myself the reliving of a much-deserved ass-kicking.

But the ultimate goal of Jangl and Shel was (and is) to share with everyone at Jangl the power and promise of blogging, to expose a whole variety of folks to how they might express and share themselves and join a much bigger conversation.

So a few minutes after my ass-kicking, I was prepping Shel for what was to follow: a pre-arranged, open discussion between Shel and anyone at Jangl who wanted to talk blogs.

"How many are going to be there?" he asked.

I'd received 7 replies via email.

"Somewhere between 5 and 8," I said.

Fourteen showed up. What a fool am I.

So we spent several minutes slowly and awkwardly squeezing chair after chair into the suddenly-small room. The edges of the table were occupied, so others were pushed to the fringes, swiveling in the corners. Others perched atop a table in the corner. The fire marshal would've objected.

And finally, there we all sat, beancounters, marketers, engineers, administrators, execs. The fluorescents buzzed dimly. The room temperature was already soaring. I had my usual brief terror that the meeting would be stilted and horrible: who knew what would happen?

Wow.

People happened.

More next time.

Burritos in S.F. -- and Media Guerrilla's, Too

2007-01-30T21:17:00.000-08:00

We have a lot of talented cooks and devoted foodies at Jangl, and a few of us find ourselves over in San Francisco quite a bit. So sharing "my" secret guide to top burritos in the City by the Bay makes some sense here.

Truth is, when I think of burritos, I think of Mike Manuel (aka Media Guerrilla), my colleague of many years when I was at Voce Communications. I was lucky enough to spend many hours locked in a room with Mike, dreaming up new plans and ideas. In fact, I still remember the night -- both of us on Yahoo! Messenger -- when Mike IMd me something.

"I think I'm going to start a blog."

If you've met Mike online, you know he's smart. If you've met him in person, you know he's like meth disguised as valium, and a genuinely nice guy. Unbeknownst to most, he also harbors a secret burrito recipe that alledges involves a "secret frying step." The burrito is about as big as a linebacker's forearm and exquisitely delicious.

But the best thing is, I've met few whose brains and hearts I admire more than Mike's.

So here's to the Jangl foodies, to Mike Manuel, and to Charles Hodgkins, the S.F. burrito blogger.

Jangl Condom Video, Take One

2007-01-29T21:29:00.000-08:00

There has been some internal discussion about characterizing Jangl as a condom for your phone. Truth is, Jangl isn't just about privacy and protection, although that's a big part of it.

There's been even more discussion about whether or not we should show it and, more to the point, where we should show it.

My team won. :) And in fact, I've been scooped by my boss and by Pat Phelan, as well.

But the question is: does this offend? What's your reaction?

Mr. Bronstein, I Just Want to Follow Up on that Brain Machine Story

2007-01-29T19:21:00.000-08:00

The San Francisco Chronicle has begun podcasting complaints, rants and raves from its readers, a scheme dreamed up by Chronicle editor and EVP Phil Bronstein.

To me, this idea seems to marry some of the best things about "old media," "new media," "dead social media," and -- last but not least -- reality TV. Only this could be hugely entertaining.

So far, my nomination for both Most Entertaining and Most Fevered Media Pitch via podcast goes to Michael Duerksen, who calls from a phone booth in Arizona to lament that the media not only refuse to cover the existence of a Brain Machine That Mutilates, Imprisons, Etc., but that certain members of the media secretly use the machine themselves.

Regardless, podcasting reader comments is a great idea. Entertainment and information for the listeners, and a more broad voice for the commenters.

UPDATE: Over at Freakonomics, Stephen Dubner (and others) suspect that an earlier Chronicle caller may have been none other than Matt Groening, creator of The Simpsons. Some terrific sleuthing over there.

Mobile Phones Changing Lives

2007-01-28T19:02:00.000-08:00

The Associated Press yesterday featured a terrific story about how mobile phones are changing lives -- and national GDPs -- in developing countries. It's highly recommended.

As service charges and handset prices have plunged and coverage areas have expanded, cellphone subscriptions in the developing world have surged fivefold since 2000, to 1.4 billion at the end of 2005, according to the U.N. International Telecommunication Union. That's nearly double the 800 million in advanced economies.

Those are huge numbers. But the money quote, in my humble view, comes from the woman in Bangladesh, where the per capita income in 2004 was less than $500 U.S.

". . .now I have some money with (which) I can expand my business."

Jangl in The Washington Post

2007-01-28T01:33:00.000-08:00

Sunday edition, story starts on page 1.

The author, Sara Goo, was a total pro throughout the whole process. She was upfront about the story subject, responsive to calls and emails, and was clean and fair about the whole deal. Sara was intent on writing a well-rounded story about privacy and dating, and she did exactly that.

There are also other companies like Jangl, a start-up that offers free temporary phone numbers for eBay customers and dating singles who, at least initially, might want to keep their real phone numbers to themselves. Another company, Tossable Digits, offers a similar service for a fee.

Since November, Match.com has gotten more than 500,000 members to test its MatchTalk feature, which uses Jangl's technology. The service asks for members to enter their phone numbers into the Web site, which generates a phone number that can be used to make calls between the two dating prospects without disclosing their actual numbers. The service is temporary: A couple can give up the temporary number if they get serious or if they call it quits.

"We're excited by the take-up," said Jane Thompson, senior vice president of Match.com in North America, which plans to soon charge $6.99 a month for the service. It allows users "to screen people and remain anonymous, yet still get another data point on someone's personality," she said.

Yes, we're Match.com's service, and yes, we make sense for all daters and online socializers of all types (think MySpace, Yahoo!, LinkedIn, Friendster, Spark, True), as well as commerce sites (eBay, yes, but Craig's List and more, too).

I'm not entirely sure why eBay was called out so clearly in this story, but so be it. Sara wrote a story that I'd read even if I didn't work here.

More at The Washington Post (registration required).

Go Worldwide for Free

2007-01-28T00:51:00.000-08:00

Pat Phelan is one of the finest people I've met in ages. He's a true gentleman, former chef, and current entrepreneur. I had the pleasure of having lunch with him, Shel, and Michael when Pat toured the West Coast late last year.

Pat and his crew run two teams very well. They sell SIM cards at Roam4free, which lets you roam and receive calls for free in 65 countries and realize a 90 percent savings on standard mobile rates.

Not available yet in the U.S. -- but stay tuned because it will be soon. I'm already on the mailing list. :)

For U.S. folks, Pat and crew also run AllFreeCalls, which lets anyone in the U.S. make free calls to any of more than 30 countries.

Not on a headset. Not on your PC.

Basically, pick up your phone, use AllFreeCalls (no sign up required), and make the call.

For free.

Brilliant.

If you're in the U.S. and dialing overseas, you need to be using AllFree Calls.

Kudos to my friend in County Cork. Nice job, Pat.

Deposits

2007-01-28T00:17:00.000-08:00

For much of its early life, a start-up devotes a ton of energy to raising money. Then, it works like hell to turn the investment into revenue. All the while -- if you're lucky -- some really brilliant people are working in the background, making it happen and writing the code. People like Kyle and Tupshin.

This past week, Jangl started making money, about 14 months after it closed a Series A round for $2 million from Storm and Labrador in November 2005.

We started a trial service with Match.com in June 2006, and response was so positive that Match launched it nationwide, as a free service, in November 2006.

But even before the nationwide launch, Cardinal joined too, while Storm and Labrador added more during our Series B in July 2006, long before the Match trial was complete.

That's faith.

As of Thursday, our free service for Match.com became a paid service for Match subscribers. Which means that Jangl's bank account jingles, due to our revenue sharing agreement.

It's a huge milestone for us. During our monthly all-hands meeting, we popped a cork and had a sip.

Then we got back to work.

There's more on the near horizon.

My Secret History: 1

2007-01-27T22:00:00.000-08:00

Basically, I've steadfastly refused to do anything in a "traditional way." From education to career to domestic bliss and child-rearing, I at some point decided that everyone else was doing things out of sequence and chose, instead, to forge my own back-asswards course.

A good student in high school, in 1985 I left a local university after less than a year. I was bored with classes and anxious to move onto "real life." I'd always loved writing, specifically, and communicating in general, and I wanted to put my meager skills to the test. Having come from a Navy family (father, mother, brother and now -- as it turns out -- sister), I signed up in 1986 as a Navy journalist and spent five years in San Diego, Seattle, and later, in a lovely part of the world during a lovely time.

But, like any veteran knows, the journey begins in bootcamp. As I'd spent the first 20 years of life within 30 minutes of a beach in California, it was only natural that I be handpicked to attend bootcamp in Great Lakes, Ill., forty miles north of Chicago and a quiet, pleasant town during the summer months.

I arrived and had my head shaved in mid-December, and I graduated in mid-February.

At times, it was -60F outside. My military-issue boots never fit correctly, and at night I'd sit on the edge of my bunk and slowly peel the socks from my aching feet, in turn tearing off the scabs of several bleeding, dime-sized sores that had formed after hours of marching. I'd sleep, motionless and near-coma, between a scratchy white cotton sheet and an even-scratchier wool blanket. In the morning, my feet were stuck to both.

And I remember marches to the mess hall, our faces covered in ski masks and supplemented with hand towels wrapped over our noses and mouths and tucked inside the tops of our pea-coats in back. We'd march in lock step for what felt like miles, the cadence called off by the company commander during the early weeks and, later, by one of the recruit leaders, once the government was confident we could count to four. I vividly recall this marching and this counting, moving my eyes but not my head to watch the American flag, brilliantly colored against cold blue sky, bobbing and billowing, carried on a staff by someone in front.

And I remember arriving at the galley, preparing to enter, removing our masks and towels, only to find a six-inch icicle of condensation ran from the tip of my nose to below my chin.

But the biggest thing about Navy boot camp is "attention to detail." When you claim your clothes, it all gets stenciled with name, rank and your last four. Precisely stenciled, in perfect position. A quarter-inch off? You fail. Your folded shirts not perfectly aligned in your locker? You fail. One single missed whisker after a shave? You fail. And the failure usually involves a lot of screaming and hysteria from multiple parties, and this generally happens very close to your face.

I was good at detail. I'm naturally retentive, and the coaching I'd received from family members had prepared me for it. I was, quite humbly, a damn good recruit. I'd been named company yeoman, which basically meant I was in charge of paperwork for around 400 fellow recruits and making sure clean laundry and supplies were ordered and delivered to the barracks on time. The position allowed a certain amount of latitude not afforded anyone else: as the weeks wore on and things became less physically taxing, I could stay up later, in my office, and write a note home or re-read a letter for the thousandth time.

One night, shortly before graduation, I got sloppy and left a picture of a girl -- a dear friend from back home -- on my office desk. During a surprise inspection, it was deemed "gear adrift" -- something not put away properly. I was sentenced to three hours of physical training, the standard punishment for wayward recruits.

So the night before graduation, I reported to a drill hall at about 7 p.m., picked up a heavy rifle, and was told to hold it over my head.

And then I was told to run, the rifle still up over my head.

I ran for hours, my hands numb, my biceps apparently bleeding internally, my back rife with large, hot knives.

The difference was, most everyone received that punishment in the early weeks, when screwing up was almost a given. I, on the other hand, enjoyed the drill hall just hours before graduation. The good recruit was being taught that he wasn't perfect.

I was, yet again, doing things out of sequence.

The girl in the photo on my desk? She would give birth to our daughter nine years later.

Two Things I Do

2007-01-27T21:48:00.000-08:00

Friends? Check. Hobbies? Yes. But when I prioritize my life, like most, I think in terms of two things: work and family.

I joined Jangl in July 2006, having known Michael Cerda, the CEO and co-founder, for several years. Michael is, simply put, a great human being: good-hearted, a dedicated father, excited and inherently optimistic about life and work, and on a mission to change peoples' lives for the better. While a co-founder and director at Voce Communications, I'd helped grow one of the nation's finest tech PR firms and, during that time, led the public relations and communications efforts for some of Michael's earlier ventures. When the time came to leave agency life and join a start-up, I jumped.

At Jangl, my responsibilty is corporate communications: how we talk about ourselves, and present ourselves, to our different audiences. That might mean working with media and bloggers, or finding the words to describe what we do and why it matters, or helping to decide if a certain image or sentence or event will ultimately advance our cause.

A former boss and mentor of mine, the late PR veteran Fred Hoar, described what communicators do as "telling the story." And that, in a nutshell, is it. I try to tell the Jangl story in such a way that the maximum number of consumers is exposed to what we do, so they can decide for themselves about Jangl.

I love what I do.

Anyone who knows me knows, however, that everything takes a back seat to my family and, specifically, my daughter.

She's 11 now, going on 15, and is everything to me.

She's endured the break-up of her mother and I since age three, and done so with grace and style. She's spent alternating weeks with her mother and I for eight years and I relish every moment she's with me. Early on, the weekly swapping involved ensuring that her blankies and stuffed pet dog survived the hand-off. Nowadays, it's about making sure the iPod, cell phone and soccer uniform are all on-board.

We're close and it's always been that way. I was the very first to hold her. I gave her her first bottle of milk while her mother agonized nearby, post-C-section. I clipped toenails, cleaned ears, and changed diapers, usually improvising silly, invented songs to distract her during the latter. All the while, she smiled crazily amidst all the poo, gazing up at me as if in love. And when her mother and I split and I had to miss her for a day or two or three, it crushed me.

Today, she's a great student, a tireless soccer player, and a good-hearted person -- and we're closer than ever. We laugh at the same jokes. We finish each other's sentences. We share silences without awkwardness. And once in a while, we'll be driving and suddenly burst into song -- the same exact song, on the exact same word, at the same exact time.

Odd, yes, but somehow completely expected by both of us by now. But we still both laugh and look at each other and call it crazy.

And sometimes I still think I detect her gazing over at me, as if in love.

Work and family.

There ya' go.

I Switched

2007-01-26T23:21:00.000-08:00

Not that anyone reads or cares, but I've switched from WordPress to Blogger in these nascent stages of My Blog.

Because a (very) few had pointed to my first-ever blog post, I feel compelled to include it here. Not because I'm proud of it. I wrote at a tired moment and the words reflected that. I hate the entry, despite its honesty. I sound lame and weak.

But here it is (written December 1, 2006). I post it not because of it is useful, but because I don't want to be misleading or dishonest.

So here's my first-ever (sort of) aborted blog entry.

Laugh away. :)

I feel old.

I crossed another decade milestone not too many months back.

Since then, it feels like I’ve been called “sir” more often than ever.

I’m a single dad of a wonderful 11 year old girl with whom I’ve always shared the closest of bonds. But lately, I’m feeling a little bit more uncool and dorkish than ever.

I now have a little more weight and a lot less hair than is typically desired, when I used to wear a 28 waist and have a feathered, mid-80s do.

But what really makes me feel old is the fact that I’m starting this blog on a cold, clear night in late 2006.

That’s late. Way late. Too late for someone like me.

But honestly, there’s so much brilliance on this here internets, I can’t compare. It feels as if I’ve suddenly started the Indy 500, in my old 1963 VW Bug, with five laps to go.

I was gonna lay on the couch tonight and wallow in this spate of harsh reflection.

But instead, I decided to write a little bit. I’m lucky to have a great set of colleagues and friends, and a “blogging coach” who is unsurpassed. Yes, you know him. And you know many, many of the same folks I know.

But you don’t know me.

I’ll start by fixing that.

Fuck feeling old.