chrisbrogan.com ¡ª Learn How Human Business Works - Beyond Social Media
Home
About
Speaking
Newsletters
Contact
Best Of
Work With Me
Blogging
Book Review
Business
How To
Human Business
Marketing
Social Media
Video Blog
Amazon Kindle Fire Is Worth It
November 17, 2011 8 Comments
I just picked up my Kindle Fire (amazon affiliate link) and found it to be really good as a consumption device. I¡¯d seen some early tech reviews saying that it wasn¡¯t all that and a bag of chips, but I¡¯m not seeing it. I think the device is pretty slick, shiny, and works well. I shot a video review, so scroll down if you want to see it in action for a moment. (There¡¯s even some Batman to be seen.)
What it isn¡¯t is an iPad2. And maybe that¡¯s where people are getting all hung up.
Amazon Kindle Fire
The device is about 7 inches, which makes it a bit smaller than an iPad2, bigger than a smartphone (one hopes), and absolutely reasonable to put into a larger pocket, or to tuck into your laptop bag or purse. There are a decent number of covers and sleeves available at this time, but I haven¡¯t tried any out, so I will just point you towards a few at the bottom for you to check out (again- none of these have been touched by me, so I can¡¯t vouch for them.) Upon getting the device turned on, connected to my wifi, and then linked to my Amazon account, I suddenly had access to all the books I¡¯d bought from the Kindle store, to all the music I¡¯d purchased from the Amazon MP3 store, to the movies and TV shows I¡¯d purchased from Amazon¡¯s video service. It was pretty quick and simple.
The system running underneath all this is an Amazon-skinned flavor of Android, the popular Google OS. Amazon offers a much smaller version of the Android App store with fewer applications available, but I haven¡¯t yet found that to be particularly limiting (except there¡¯s no Google+ yet, which kind of bums me out). The average regular person user will likely not notice a thing, plus all the other social networks are well represented, and I presume Google+ will have a Kindle Fire version soon.
My Video Review
Can¡¯t see the video? Click Here
So Why Were People Complaining?
I think it¡¯s because we¡¯ve seen how slick an iPad2 is, and because we¡¯ve seen some of the other feature-heavy tablets, and we think that the Kindle Fire should be that instead of what it is: a perfectly good, quality digital consumption device. If you¡¯re thinking of getting a non-Apple tablet device for someone over the upcoming holiday season, and the person isn¡¯t a hardcore Apple fiend, this might well be the device.
Need a Cover or Sleeve?
Burn Your Money
November 17, 2011 12 Comments
In typical Chris Brogan fashion, I¡¯m talking out my butt on this one. I have NO idea whether this is really useful or not. Does paying for a trending topic ¡°ad¡± on Twitter work? Do you see noticeable uptick when you pay for one? Because I¡¯ve got to be honest: when I see a paid trending topic, I think, ¡°Wow, they couldn¡¯t get our attention on a social network any other way?¡± And then I rush to see what those people normally say to people on Twitter. (Hint: never anything especially engaging).
Why Not Just BURN Your Money?
The thing that bugs me most when I see ineffective marketing or advertising isn¡¯t that I think it makes the industry look bad. No, I just want the money someone spent on something I perceive of as not all that great so that I could do something more useful with it.
I can¡¯t begin to tell whether paying for a sponsored ¡°trending topic¡± mention is useful. I¡¯d love to hear from people who can say so definitively. But in the larger context, if you¡¯re going to bother using social media, why use it like traditional media? Why use it to place spots?
Educate me?
We Are a World of Fledgling TV Stations
November 15, 2011 17 Comments
In the old Weird Al Yankovic movie, UHF (amazon affiliate link), the loose premise of the movie is that Al inherits a UHF tv channel that¡¯s failing, and has to turn the ratings around to save the station. Soon, all kinds of strange shows come into existence, such as ¡°Wheel of Fish,¡± a game show [...]
Read the full article ¡ú
Taking Other People¡¯s Word For It
November 14, 2011 35 Comments
More and more, I see evidence that people don¡¯t form their own opinion. It¡¯s easy to determine, if you know what to look for. People repeat something they¡¯ve read in Mashable, or on CNN, or Twitter. Instead of forming an opinion or even giving something the benefit of your own review, I see people simply [...]
Read the full article ¡ú
Your Customers Are Always the Story
November 12, 2011 17 Comments
In writing and movies and storytelling, there¡¯s always the question of point of view. From whose eyes will we see the story? Who will lead us into this world? In Harry Potter, the title character is our point of view, and we experience all the magic from the eyes of someone who was seemingly normal, [...]
Read the full article ¡ú
Protected: Additions to the Google+ for Business Book from Que Publishing
November 11, 2011 17 Comments
There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.
Read the full article ¡ú
Why Would You Ever Want to Outsource Your Voice?
November 11, 2011 78 Comments
I had intended to write a post about how unfortunate it is that one of my favorite authors, Chuck Palahniuk, doesn¡¯t do his own tweets, because I wanted to share, enthusiastically, that I love his new book, Damned. My immediate feeling, upon reading the little bio on his Twitter account, which points out that his [...]
Read the full article ¡ú
Mobile Marketing Isn¡¯t a QR Code
November 9, 2011 38 Comments
I¡¯ve had an interesting experience repeat itself lately, and then repeat again, and again. In several occasions lately, I¡¯ve bothered to click a QR code (one of those nifty 3D barcodes like the one you see above), and this effort has redirected me to a non-mobile-formatted web page. This is a missed opportunity. Mobile Marketing [...]
Read the full article ¡ú
After the Kumbaya
November 7, 2011 47 Comments
For the last few years, the phrase ¡°social media¡± has been the dominant buzzword of marketing, and for business as a whole. Sure, people want to understand cloud computing and green data centers and distributed mobile workforces, but the burning itch that companies seek to scratch is twofold: How do I ensure my entire workforce [...]
Read the full article ¡ú
That VIP Feeling
November 4, 2011 32 Comments
Last night, I attended a welcome party for BlogWorld LA, along with a few hundred other people. It was held on a rooftop with great music, plenty of space to stretch out and mingle, good looking food, and a lot of wonderful attendees. What struck me, looking around at all my nerd friends and blogging [...]
Read the full article ¡ú
1
2
3
¡­
422
Next ?
FREE Updates
Enter your email address.
(We respect your privacy.)
Subscribe
Sign up for the Newsletter
Follow Chris on Twitter
Subscribe to the RSS Feed
Supporters
About
Chris Brogan is President of Human Business Works, a company providing business systems for small business. He consults with Fortune 100/500 companies and speaks professionally. Read more about Chris...
Archives Select Month November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 March 2005 February 2005 January 2005 December 2004 November 2004 October 2004 September 2004 August 2004 July 2004 June 2004 May 2004 April 2004 March 2004
chrisbrogan.com runs on the Genesis Framework.
All contents Creative Commons licensed. chrisbrogan.com.
