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State Farm Insurance totally scored by thinking outside the box. Reward? Viral Heaven

2010-03-06T03:59:38Z

Have you seen the following video?

Chances are you have.

It was released on March 1st. As I write this it has had 3,911,718 views!

Yep...that's A LOT.

How innovative and cool is that?

I just heard about this from one of my favorite podcasts (Buzz Out Loud) as they interviewed Adam Sadowsky president of Syynlabs who came up with the idea and executed it for OK go. I was intrigued and decided to check it out.

Although it was obviously incredible and amazingly creative I was most surprised by the sponsorship: State Farm Insurance

What?

And then it clicked....Riiiight....BRILLIANT PAIRING!!!

I gotta say, that it's shifted my perception of State Farm completely. That sort of brand perception change is priceless. Great job State Farm for taking a chance and saying OK go! :D

And if they didn't have a vision of this at all, holy moses, talk about luck lining up with the creative juice of the universe ;)

Extended Follow Friday for February 26, 2010 @_elan_ #ff #followfriday

2010-02-26T21:34:24Z

I just finished writing an interview/article about Elán for Beatweek Magazine, BUT I still had some things to say, about this artist, so I’m adding a bit more here! (FYI that article is not published yet, but will be very soon!)

I’m not going to tell you too much about Elán’s latest record or about her prior records or about any publicity tour or anything like that. I share Elán with you because I think she’s a really awesome human being.

My favorite things about Elán:

In random order :)

Her commitment to continuing to participate in the conversation with her fans and friends via social media.

She is genuine and truly grateful for the relationships. She is accessible and honest. She not only responds to folks but adds to the dialogue. She is at times blunt, other times funny and always honest and courteous.

Her honor for herself.

In the music business, or I venture to say in the entertainment business as a whole, this is a very tough thing to do. Particularly if you happen to be a stunning blonde. It is sooo easy to pull the beauty sex card. It is easy because it’s basically expected. Elán could have very easily just stepped into it, just as hundreds of other physically blessed people have done. Elán is doing it her way. Her image is her own. She chooses what she wants to put out onto the world. At times she is sexy (but seriously, how could she NOT be, she just is) but she doesn’t push it out there. At times she is rough and hard, other times playful and light. I absolutely enjoy seeing this woman enjoy being in her own skin.

Her love for her family.

I dare you to find and interview with Elán where she doesn’t in some way mention some member of her family. While doing research for my interview with her, the greatest thing that stuck out at me was how much she loved and respected her family. Her father and mother have been a major influence on this woman’s life, in a good way. What’s lovely to see is that she is NOT her parents or her family. She is herself, and that is the greatest gift that she gives back to them. She honors them by being herself. Her brother has been by her side from the beginning. From what I can see, he is her friend, confidant, producer, band member, advisor all rolled up into one!

It’s simply lovely to see a woman in the entertainment business that chooses to empower herself in such life affirming and auspicious ways.

So my pick for this Extended Follow Friday is @_elan_

Consider checking out her music as the majority is in English, although her latest is in Spanish (iTunes Link). And if you’re not up for the music, follow her Tumblr blog. It rocks

Oh yea...and stayed tuned for more about Elán coming up next week for Beatweek Magazine!

Publishing a Podcast Episode of Elsie's Yoga Kula: My Process

2010-02-24T05:45:35Z

I often get questions regarding podcasting. I love it actually, as I love podcasting and truly enjoy helping folks get themselves going. I thought that I’d share my process with one of my podcast episodes. My podcast is primarily my live yoga classes recorded and posted, but within the past 6 months I’ve been posting a series within Elsie’s Yoga Class: Live and Unplugged Podcast called Elsie’s Yoga Kula (EYK). In this series I don’t ‘teach’ per say, but offer responses to feedback that I receive, share products and reviews of yogic things, and as of the latest, do interviews.

This episode was unique, as are much of the EYK episodes, so the following process is not necessarily the norm, but it may give you a bit of insight of what it takes to commit to producing something like this.

The Process:

Scheduled interview with James Wvinner way in advance, so I’d have time to prep for it, and made sure that I would have babysitting, as holding interviews with a 16 month old is not optimal.

Prepped for the interview (1.5 hours)

Googled subject
Studied personal site/business site,
Studied FB pics and vids.
Searched for any other social media profiles.
Researched prior interviews.
Emailed subject list of possible questions, plus a request for feedback, making sure to honor his boundaries, plus to give him the ability to tell me specific things that he’d like to speak about. (I don’t do this with all my interviewees, I feel it out, depending on what is the intention of the interview)

Conducted interview (30 min)

Used my Zoom H2 Recorder to record my audio.
Had James call into my conference call line, and recorded our conversation there.

*I did not do any Skype recording because I do not have the luxury of being in one place. Being a Mom I have to be ready to record anytime anywhere, whether there is an Internet connection or not. This is the set up that at this moment gives me the most freedom...although not the best audio...but it’s enough for the moment.

Wrote “script” for the rest of the episode (30 min)

I’ve been currently using MacJournal to write my blog posts/shownotes/scripts. It works lovely for me, as I have everything organized in one place.
I also use Evernote for the feedback that I use in the show. Whenever I get an email, FB message, find an article I put it in Evernote tag it (example eyk #4) and when I’m writing my script, I just search for my tag, and voila!

Recorded the episode (20 min)

Using my H2 Zoom Recorder.
In the bathroom in the middle of the night (quietest place and quietest time)
Macbook on my lap with MacJournal on Full Screen (makes for a lovely ‘TelePrompTer’)

Edited episode (2 hrs)

Imported all audio from the H2, plus downloaded MP3 from the conferencing site.
Used Garageband to edit all audio, exported to iTunes.

*Usually it doesn’t take me THIS long to edit an episode but the interview really did take me a while.

NOTE: Made sure that I got all editing done, as I knew that all the other stuff (id3 tags, artwork, uploading, etc) I could do while taking care of my toddler. The editing was all done at night (dawn).

Polishing Audio (60 min)

I downloaded the audio to my iPod and listened to it while I washed dishes and fed my baby, to make sure the quality and levels were ok
Re-encoded the audio as I wanted better quality
Edited id3 tags and added artwork

Publishing of Podcast and corresponding shownotes + publicity (2 hrs)

Uploaded audio file to Libsyn
Used Smultron to edit my final shownotes
Finalized shownotes on Wordpress, plus added pictures and a gazillion links
Published podcast episode in Libsyn
Pinged iTunes
Published corresponding blog post for episode
Posted link to FB Fan Page/Personal Page
Twittered

NOTE: Thanks to my daughter taking an unusually long 2 hr nap I was able to get all this done at once! If not, this process could have taken the entire day.

Tallying the time, the whole process took me almost 6 hrs! How’s that for quick and easy? No wonder I haven’t been posting as much as I would like. My intentions are always there. My ideas are always flourishing, but motherhood is the sucker of all time and energy.

So, fancy peeps, see any ways that I could streamline the process? or wanna know more or have any questions?

Look forward to hearing from you!

Extended Follow Friday for February 19, 2010 @1Password #ff #followfriday

2010-02-19T20:40:28Z

This week one of my friend’s email account was hacked.

Oh, that totally sucked.

I know that she felt bad about it, and she felt even worse at the fact that her password was just not the best password. In fact, it was probably the worse password she could have ever used, but it was one of the easiest password to remember!

I know how hard it is to remember passwords and user names and ids and all that jazz. I feel like every DAY I have to create some sort of new account for something or other, whether it be another social network, or another online bill pay service, or even just another community I’d like to know. I know that my modus operandi was to use the same id (with a variant of a number here and there) and the SAME PASSWORD FOR EVERYTHING!!! Why not? That way I won’t forget it right?

I think that we all know that, that specific choice is probably the worst choice one could make for online security.

There are people out there that are really really really smart and could guess the majority of every day type of passwords that you could come up with. Seriously. Even if you think you’re being all smart about it.

Today’s Extended Follow Friday is one of my FAVORITE Mac applications, and one the I cannot live without: 1Password by Agile Web Solutions (@1Password).

This application does so much more than *just* remember your passwords:

It can generate really strong passwords for you
It integrates seamlessly with a bunch of browsers (this makes it so easy to add new passwords to your list)
You can store credit card information, and have it automatically fill out your forms when shopping (I love this feature!!!)
You can store bank account information.
You can store application licenses in clear an orderly way
You can store your 1Password data base off site, either in a USB stick, or using Dropbox, or even have it as a PDF!
It has smarphone apps! It supports iPhone and Palm OS with more on the way.
It’s all encrypted!!!!!

I cannot even begin to give you a proper explanation of the feature list. I got it and found it to be intuitive and easy to use. This was THE FIRST Mac application I bought right after I got my Macbook in 2006, and have loved it ever since. They have a great support on their Web site ,a blog and also have great support period. All this is $39.99. I think it’s well worth the price, especially for your security online.

Even though I cannot explain to you my love for this product properly the mighty on Don McAllister from ScreenCasts Online certainly can! The following video is a 17 min video walking you through the wonderful functionality of 1Password. Since this video was made there have been some very significant updates to the software making it EVEN better!

Please subscribe to ScreenCasts Online if you haven't already! It’s a must for us Mac Lovers :D

SCO0129 - 1Password Update
by sconline

If you happen to own 1Password and want to share your experiences please do so below! Let's make the Internet more secure :)

Extended Follow Friday for February 12, 2010 @HillaryRubin #ff #followfriday

2010-02-11T19:54:24Z

I was attending a yoga class with my beloved teacher Naime Jezzeny while doing my first Anusara Teacher Training over at City Yoga (waaaaay back in the day ;) ), when it was time to do handstands. That day I partnered with a woman that I’ve never met before, I’d seen her around in class, but never engaged personally with her. As we worked on our handstands she began to ‘teach’ handstand to me. I initially was like “who do she think she is?”, but then after I softened my ego, I recognized that all the teaching that she was offering was right on! In fact I believe that was the first time that I found strong and full balance in that pose.

That woman was Hillary Rubin.

From that day on I was intrigued by Hillary. I watched her learn. I watched her grow. I watched her daily become more of the power house that she is today. We also became great friends and collaborators.

Hillary has taught me so much about life and living your yoga as yourself. She’s never stopped choosing for herself. Whatever she puts her mind to she’s on it, and believe me does she make things happen! I’ve also observed her develop into one of the most genuine and open teachers with whom I’ve had the blessing to practice. One of the best things about Hillary both as a teacher and a human being is that she is willing to fail. She is willing to take risks. She is willing to fall. She recognizes mistakes, misalignments, misadventures, becomes responsible for them and chooses again, refining her process daily. She does this quite openly, and it’s truly inspiring to watch.

So, Hillary Rubin is my pick for #FF this week, not only because she’s my friend, but also because she is truly worth following. This woman is cultivating great things and watch out world, I believe she can shift the planet! :D

Other than following her on twitter @hillaryrubin, you can find her at her blog http://hillaryrubinblog.com, where she posts wonderful videos that focus on cultivating your self in a very grounded and transparent way. They are ‘life teachings’ that you can apply to your life, whether you practice yoga or not. You can also check out http://hillaryrubin.com, where you can see her in a more business sense ;) Plus, you can get her DVD!!! Which I have to say is one of THE BEST yoga dvd’s out there. You must get it!

If you would like to experience Hillary’s teachings virtually you can via her audio podcast Hillary’s Yoga Practice! So much to choose from!

So get to it! follow @hillaryrubin and say hello for me :D

Wanna learn a bit more about the why behind my extended #FF #followfriday? Check out my prior post please :)

Ooooooh, I almost forgot! Hillary will be participating in a pretty extraordinary event called The Virtual World Yoga Conference! Sounds pretty darn fancy! I'm so very thankful that she gifted me with a ticket to attend :D You can find the details of what she will be teaching HERE The entire conference (with a lot more presenters and opportunities for self growth and learning) is $197 BUT Hillary is offering a promo code that takes $100 off

I KNOW! $100 off! It’s HLR219

The 3 Top Picks of CES 2010 for the Average Stay At Home Geeky Mom- The YoGeek Mami

2010-01-12T05:32:50Z

I’ve been jonesing to go to CES now for...um...a LONG time...so in leiu of being able to go just sharing with you my pics for CES 2010, coming to you from my most humble stay at home yoga teacher Mom self ☺

MOST LIKELY TO BE PURCHASED BY MY HOUSEHOLD: The Picowatt

A New York based start up has really charmed the pants off of our household with this nifty little wi-fi enabled smart plug. What does it do you say? Oh baby....

Real-time read-out of electricity usage and the ability to control appliances from a central point.
Ability to take advantage of off-peak hours facilitated by the data you get from the device TRANSALATION: Savings on your utility bills and less consumption of energy
You are in control. You set it up....it’s a plug, it fits over your existing outlets! No waiting for any other 3rd party to help you figure out all the stuff.
Gathers all data via Wi-Fi into your PC OR...get this, a Facebook application that can be operated from a smartphone!
Eliminates standby power, so when you’re not using an electronic device, it pulls the power.

The company says that this puppy will be available by April 2010, and it will be about the size of an Apple AirPort.

Oh yea, the best part, It’s $79! That’s pretty doable, especially with all the other benefits! Thinking this is a must for most households ☺ Check out more about the Picowatt here

MOST COVETED FOR FAMILY MEDIA CONSUMPTION EXPERIENCE: The Boxee Box

Our gigantic family of 3 would get something out of this puppy, including our 15 month old, as she’s already a huge fan of YouTube...well, online video in general. She loves the whole on demand thing. She may just take after her Mama ☺

What does this little device do?

You attach it to your HDTV. It can play local media files AND online media content: Video: Adobe Flash 10.1, H.264 (MKV, MOV), VC-1, WMV, MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, AVI, Xvid, Divx, PCM/LPCM, VOB Audio: MP3, WMA, WAV, AIFF, FLAC, AAC, DTS, Dolby Digital, Ogg Vorbis PHOTO: JPEG, TIFF, BMP, PNG.

The coolest part of this funky shaped black box is it that it can stream online media content straight to your TV! Plus it has apps (of course...now everything’s gonna have apps). What kind of apps you ask? How about Netflix, Facebook or even Twit.TV. Basically you can stream movies directly from Netflix, and post a review of the movie on FB if you so choose. I would also be able to watch my favorite video podcasts on the television!!!! (on the occasional day that Hunter has decided she’s had enough of Elmo, and who knows when that would be.)

From what I have been reading and listening to Boxee has some pretty awesome software and interface so navigating through all the content is pretty darn seamless....What’s the price you ask? “Around $200.” That’s not too bad, considering the fact that we only have basic basic basic cable, and our bill is $12/month. If we subscribed to a premium cable package that would be 2 months worth of service.

.....Now if we only owned a HDTV.....

More about the Boxee Box

DEVICE MOST LIKELY TO MAKE A YOGEEK MAMI HAPPY (at least before the Apple Event on 1/27): Que ProReader by Plastic Logic

I have not in any way wanted an e-reader. They just didn't call my attention in the least, I mean at ALL...until I saw this lovely thing and all that it can do.

One of the reasons that e-readers weren’t really calling my name was because of the design. They are just not pretty. I think they were way too plain and often times downright ugly, and to spend a couple of hundred bucks on something that didn't aesthetically please me was just not going to happen. There is only one other thing that beats aesthetics for me and that’s comfort, and at least from my looking at the Kindle it just didn't seem like a comfortable device to me.

Efficiency is big in my book. It’s started to eek up there with aesthetics and comfort. This is mainly due to my daughter. I’ve been longing for a device that I can have with me while I sit next to her as she eats, or that I can take with me to on my bus rides to teach yoga, or even have in the kitchen with me as I'm cooking. I want this device to help me be more efficient and productive in:

Reading online content (especially all the blogs that I’m subscribed to)
Reading emails, emails, emails
Reading through the gazillion e-books and software manuals that I NEED to read
Check out and respond to work power point presentations and PDFs
Annotate the 4 categories above

With the Que I can do all that and more! I finally would LOVE to subscribe to a magazine or newspaper again! I would be supporting publishing companies without having to add more needless waste to the environment and to the clutter of my home (meaning the paper and all that, not the content...although that is debatable ;) )

It saves paper, as I don’t have to print out longer PDFs that I just DON’T want to read on my lap top.

It lowers the carbon footprint simply from having to produce physical material

It gives me the opportunity to read MORE and also make more educated investments into books and magazines that I should have a physical copy of.

It would save my back more needless strain as I often travel with 2 books in my backback just in case I have a moment to read. (Seriously I think that my backpack is at least 30 lbs, loaded up with stuff ‘just in case’ I have time to get to...)

And it’s pretty *sigh*

It’s perfect...except for the price ☹ The 4GB WiFi ‘less expensive’ model runs $649 and the 8GB WiFi and 3G model runs $799! Aghhhhh! That’s a pretty penny.

If I were to fork down that sort of cash (*cough* credit card), it would have to be MORE, perhaps something like what may or may not be announced on January 27? Just sayin’ ;)

So,

for those of you that happened to have tuned in to the goings on at CES 2010, what were your favorites and why? A YoGeek wants to know ;)

Podcasters! Holiday Music for Free Download from True North Records!

2009-12-20T15:33:00Z

Happy Holidays from True North Records!

To celebrate this holiday season we have posted on our share page a collection of seasonal MP3s for free download, to use and share with your friends, post on your own webpage, use in a podcast, or send to friends for a holiday greeting.

Enjoy our music and tell a friend!

www.truenorthrecords.com/share

Inexpensive Audio Equipment For Recording Your Yoga Classes

2009-11-29T22:59:37Z

I've been asked enough times now that I know I MUST write a post about this :)

Oh and of course you must watch my goofy video above to see the stuff 'live'. It's an ode to silent movies :D

Basic Audio Equipment for Yoga Teachers to record their yoga classes

The following microphone and digital recorder are what I use to record my audio yoga podcast:

A Zoom H2 Recorder

I find this recorder pretty easy to use. There were a couple of settings that I had to figure out when I first started to use it, as I was unable to make my lav mic work with it, and then once I did I was unable to record so that my mono microphone sounded in 2 channels. Both of these things frustrated me to no end :(

Both of these were solved once I actually READ the instructions! Imagine that ;)

in order to make the lapel microphone work with the H2 I had to make sure that in the settings the PLUG-IN was set to ON.

In order to have my mono lapel microphone record on two channels I had to make sure that in the settings the MONO MIX was turned ON.

Once I took care of both of those things, then my recording went quite smoothly :) I still haven't figured out how to get my volume levels optimal...just yet. I often have to raise the level in post. Speaking about battery life, the AA batteries that it uses last me for at least 5 classes, sometimes many more. I haven't really kept track of how often I change the batteries because it doesn't happen very often. You can also plug the recorder to the wall, but of course that wouldn't work as I'm wearing the thing when I teach!

The lavaliere microphone that I use is the Audio-Technica ATR35S Omnidirectional Lavaliere Microphone

It's been working just fine. I haven't found an optimal place to put the HUGE cord that comes with it. Lately I've just shoved it in the back of my pant's waistband.

The whole set up works pretty well for me, although I am seriously thinking of investing on a wireless lavaliere microphone. There are plenty of times that I am unable to demonstrate a pose or something because the cord of the lav mic is in the way. I usually attach the H2 to an armband that came with another MP3 player, and during winter time, this proves to be problematic as I put the armband on over my clothes, I get hot while teaching and removing the top layer of clothing is an absolute hassle as I have to take the recorder off, plus the microphone and I undoubtedly end up turning the recording off cause it's too much of a hassle. Obviously this would also be taken care off with a wireless microphone!

As of the date of this post on Amazon the H2 is selling for $141.30 and the Audio-Technica ATR35S is selling for $29.99

FULL DISCLOSURE: ALL LINKS FOR THE H2 AND MIC ARE MY AMAZON AFFILIATE LINKS.

I KNOW I'm not the only yoga teacher podcasting...so how about you share what you use to record your yoga classes, and how's it going for you?

15 Free Tech Manuals To Get Your Geek On Yogis!

2009-11-07T15:16:25Z

The hardest thing about tech, once you do start to step into it, is the "how to" aspect.

The coolest thing about tech is that you can use it to teach you and refine your understanding but you MUST Engage, the first tenet of the YoGeek Lifestyle :D

So engage my dear YoGeeks!

Here is a very useful article that gives you 15 Free (yes FREE) Tech Manuals. They are all absolutely useful, easy to read and very well done. These are only a few of the titles:

The Incredible Free Guidebook for Every Mac User
Twitter: Best Practices & Tips
A Computer Geeks Smart Productivity Guide

Here is my 'homework' to you: Download at least one manual regarding something that you've been wanting to know a bit more about, or to refine, and apply at least 1 bit of knowledge that you gathered. Come back here and leave me a comment sharing how it went!

Extended Follow Friday for September 25, 2009: @traceesioux #ff #followfriday

2009-09-25T04:21:07Z

The Girl Revolution Has Begun and Is Getting Stronger Every Day

One of the many gifts that my yoga podcast and corresponding blog have given me is the opportunity to 'meet' some incredible people. This week's extended #followfriday is one of these amazing folks. The mighty Tracee Sioux commented on my blog for the first time at the end of June 2008. Whenever anyone comments on my yoga podcast blog, I do my best to at minimum respond on the site, often times I send and email and if they have submitted their own Web site, I go check it out, as I believe strongly as a yoga teacher in getting to know my students as best as I can, whether virtual students or not :)

Imagine my surprise when I checked out Tracee's site! At that time, her main blog was called Empowering Girls: So Sioux Me, but as of January this year she re-launched, refined and re-branded her content on a new site: The Girl Revolution!

designed to help parents raise powerful daughters. The Girl Revolution’s sole mission is to revolutionize the way we think about, treat, and raise girls.

Now tell me if that is not a powerful, necessary and VALUABLE site to have out in the world!

I think about raising a powerful daughter daily. I have all the concerns that any parent has, and at the same time I also meditate a lot on the optimal ways in which to raise my daughter, especially how to instill in her, her own recognition of how absolutely valuable and sacred she is, her entire self, from the inside out. I know how hard it was for me, and the many, MANY, mistakes that I made which did not honor that sacredness in myself, and I was raised within a very solid family full of love, support and faith, so I know the challenge of it!

The Girl Revolution is not only chock full of informative and thought provoking blog posts ranging from hilarious videos that deepen the conversation to important issues regarding education and girls but it's also available for syndication! Now what does that mean? Well, if you happen to read the blog, find it's content something that you wish your magazine, organization, school, etc. would benefit from reading, you can do it! Tracee gives you all sorts of info on her site :)

Making meaningful connections with advertisers and sponsors is essential

I'm a huge believer in supporting businesses, and organizations that are valuable and life affirming. If I had a product launch of some type or if I was looking to increase my business by increasing my client base with thinking, motivated, and passionate individuals I wouldn't think twice about advertising on The Girl Revolution. There were times when I was turned off by advertising or sponsorships, but I have shifted my perspective. What bothers me the most about advertising and sponsorship is when these don't add value to the content nor me (the consumer). Joining forces with like minded and like hearted individuals and/or organizations and businesses to mutually enhance life, both economically and socially is absolutely necessary so we can truly evolve.

What's so beautiful about independent content creators, is that we get an opportunity to discern what kinds of relationships we want to make and support so we can increase goodness and uphold integrity in our own work and the world. Those mindful relationships have the potential to completely change advertising and sponsorship as we know them.

All right, off the soap box already ;)

If you have a daughter, niece, granddaughter, younger cousin/sibling, etc. you must read and subscribe to The Girl Revolution. Tracee is a magnificent writer, full of passion of the loveliest kind, one that is grounded in love, especially love for her family. This keeps her voice genuine and forthright, and wonderfully 'everyday' which makes it really accessible reading for all. #followfriday @traceesioux :D

Oh yea, and Tracee is a fantastic yoga podcast student :)

If you're wondering what in the world is this whole extended #followfriday thing. Please refer to this post!