All Posts By

Ted Murphy

Ted Murphy
In gear

Customize Your Shoes with NikeID

My running shoes are starting to show some wear so I have decided to order some new shoes from NikeID. This will be my 4th pair of running shoes from Nike and I have got to say I love the shoes almost as much as the customization process. Nike gives you the ability to create your own shoes, complete with your name embroidered on them. If you have odd size feet (which I don’t) you can even order different sizes for your left and right foot as well as different widths. There are tons of shoe styles to choose from for men, women and children.

NikeID is totally cool and I am a huge fan. The only thing that sucks is the 4 week delivery cycle, but it’s worth the wait.

My Current Running Shoes from Nike

The Design Process

My New Running Shoes

My New Running Shoes

Ted Murphy
In events

The Worst Booth at CES 2009

I know everyone who attended CES this year is blogging about the awesome new gear displayed at the show. I also know that I can’t possibly do a more in depth review than the big tech blogs out there, so I decided to focus on my expertise – marketing. The majority of booths at CES were incredible in every way, but one stood out among all others in my mind. It was by far the worst at CES and possibly one of the worst I have ever seen at any show. This looks like a garage sale, not company selling product at professional trade association event. I’m sorry sing2learn.com, but it is time to step up your game if you are going to be at a show like CES…this is pathetic.

CES 2009

CES 2009

CES 2009

CES 2009

I love the hand written signs. Sign me up! I’ll be a Rep!

Ted Murphy
In life

CES Day 1 – Intel FTW!

I have one word for my first day at CES – overwhelming. I have been to quite a few trade shows in my life but I have never been to one as big as this. The booths are enormous, people are packed in like sardines and the event seems to have no end. I don’t know what exhibitors like Panasonic, Microsoft and Samsung pay to have 30,000 square foot booths at CES but it is no doubt in the millions of dollars.

CES is a techo nerds dream, every gadget and gimzo you can think of is on display. It is hard to choose a favorite but among my top picks are Panasonic’s mini-SLR camera (props to Chris Brogan for getting me to the booth), Sony’s 3D HDTV and Samsung’s ridiculously thin flat screens. My top honor of the day goes to Intel for three reasons: 1. The Internet enabled television is their booth was awesome. 2. Dinner at Sushi Samaba took eating to a new level. 3. The party they co-hosted with Zappos rocked my world.

Internet Enabled Television

Imagine Mr. T as captain of Airwolf with Chuck Norris as co-pilot. Now imagine they are on a humanitarian mission to deliver pallet of Nintendo Wiis and 200 inch flat screens to a country exclusively populated with bikini models where you are dictator. Multiply that by 6.2 and it is half as cool as the Internet enabled television Intel had in their booth. Intel’s chips provide the processing power that enable a setup box to combine HDTV with all sorts of “gadgets” including RSS, Flickr and Twitter streams. You can watch TV with a small strip of tweets updating like a stock ticker on the bottom of your screen. Drool. I want. The box itself is developed by WidgetTV, they are still working with cable and satellite providers to roll out the box. Give me something cool like this and I might actually get cable again.

YOU WANT THIS! Please leave a comment and help show support so the cable companies adopt this sooner rather than later. I am going to forward this post on to the company.

CES 09

Sushi Samba

I sometimes forget what really good food tastes like. I am perfectly happy with a box of mac and cheese or bowl (tub) of cereal. Last night I remembered that these meals kinda suck in the grand scheme of things. My dinner with the Intel and Edelman team at Sushi Samba was nothing short of perfection. If you ever get a chance to go you must try the Chilean seabass, it tastes like magic.

CES 09

Rocking with MC Hammer

Though MC Hammer sings adamantly that he can’t be touched I can assure you that he can be. I had the opportunity to hang with Hammer for a bit at the Intel/Zappos party last night and he is a very nice guy. I also ran into my friends Julie, Alex, Brian, Kelly, Brett, Chris, Lotay and many other new faces. I think Intel has done a great job embracing social media. They invest in events that bring bloggers together, participate in the conversation online and even create cool tools like the CES news aggregator.

CES 09

Hats off to Michael Brito and the Intel team for making my first day at CES so awesome. I got to see some cool technology but more importantly I got to meet new geeks.

Ted Murphy
In events

Geeks Not Gadgets

I am the first to admit that I have a slight addiction to consumer electronics. I love my HDTV, game consoles, home automation, digital picture frame, smart phone and computers like any good techno nerd should. However, as I sit on this plane on the way to Vegas for the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) I have to admit I’m not really thinking about new gadgets at all; I am thinking about people. Geeky bloggers to be specific. I am more excited to see my friends and meet new people than I am about any touch screen refrigerator or new digital camera (though I want both).

A few years back I remember people saying that trade shows and events were going to be dead soon. There were a number of companies that created software and services for “virtual trade shows”, promising to replace the need to have a physical event. None of them took off that I am aware of and I don’t believe we will ever see the death of physical events. I don’t go to events to collect product marketing or listen to speakers, I go to events to meet people, interact and create a connection in person.

Modern technology is wonderful, but it doesn’t even come close to being there. I love to video chat with my parents, but it is no replacement for coming home and getting a hug from my mom. I can’t have dumplings with Brett Petersel, ride a lark with Missy Ward or do this weird hand thingy with Shoemoney on the interwebs. Try all you want but WOW, Second Life, Twitter and Facebook will never be a substitute for the real thing in business or your personal life (it’s time to dump that virtual girlfriend btw).

Have you ever noticed that the people with the biggest social networks online are also the most visible offline? Take Gary Vaynerchuck. The guy is everywhere. Shaking hands, kissing babies, kissing baby hands and so on. He has grown online because he has made the time to physically connect with people offline. He’s not just meeting people, he is meeting the right people.

I’m not looking to meet just anyone. If I wanted to do that I would walk into a bar, sit down and buy some dude a drink. He would try to sell me a timeshare, I would refuse, he would buy me four more drinks and I would accept. Later I would wake up and wonder what I was going to do with three weeks at the KaKatchy Ranch in Bettendorf, Iowa. That’s not what I am looking for.

I want to meet people that share my interests and passion in technology and social media. There happen to be a ton of those people attending CES, so it is a natural fit for me to get out from behind my computer and get to know them in person. How about you? When was the last time you broke out of the online world and made some real human connections? There are so many people out there, it’s time to get to know a few. Find an event that is right for you and make an appearance.

Ted Murphy
In health

The Extra 10% is Worth It

This morning I had planned a 20 mile run as part of my marathon training program. As I sat on the floor and stretched my legs I started preparing myself mentally for the road ahead. I began to question the goal I had set for today’s run. I knew I could run 20 miles, the real question is can I push myself 10% harder and run 22? With that in mind I set out to run the longest distance I have ever run.

22 Mile Run

At 20 miles I was exhausted. I felt like I could collapse at any moment. I thought about stopping… 20 miles was my original goal, why should I keep going? But the little voice inside of me knew I wanted more, I knew I could do it if I put my mind to it. The next two miles were the hardest two miles I have ever run. Each step felt like my knees might explode, my entire body throbbed in pain.

I pushed through it all…  dry heaving as I crossed the 22 mile mark. I smiled as I bent over in agony, I had accomplished more than I set out to achieve this morning. In retrospect that extra 10% of effort is what I am most proud of. Keep the other 20 miles, the last two is what made this run so special; they were harder than the previous 20 combined.

Goals are great, but don’t let your own goals limit your performance. The real race starts when you reach your goal and is measured by how far you exceed it. The extra 10% is well worth the effort.

Ted Murphy
In

25 Social Media Peeps I am Watching in 2009

I am often asked who I follow in social media. While the individuals may change from time to time one thing remains constant; I always follow people that make me think. They may make me think about marketing, technology, social media, blogging, family or charity but all of them push me to reconsider what I am doing in business and life. Here are the 25 people I am watching in 2009 in no particular order along with their Twitter bios.

Tamar Weinberg

Social media consultant and blogger among other things.

Jim Turner

Founder of One By One Media and Bloggers For Hire, Daddy Blogger.

Aaron Brazell

I am a maverick.

Drew Bennett

I take a Photo-A-Day and have been for nearly 4 years.

Mark Ramskill

I’m an online marketing / social media specialist and addict, working for the mighty SubHub.com – oh, i’m a nice guy as well (I won’t lend you money though!)

Robert Scoble

Tech geek blogger @ http://scobleizer.com

Lucretia M. Pruitt

Random Muse – Social Media Strategist, Speaker, ex-CIS Professor, Geek, Mom, Wife, and Insomniac

Chris Pirillo

http://geeks.pirillo.com/

Jason Keath

Idea Guy – Social Media, Design, Blogging

Gary Vaynerchuk

I do this: http://tv.winelibrary.com and I care about this: The health and happiness of my Family and Friends. Keep it simple!

Chris Brogan

President, New Marketing Labs, a social media agency and education company.

Michael Gray

is a general all around trouble maker.

Mark Davidson

Promoter to The Stars. Internet strategy. Social media management. I’m a product promoter and people are my product.

Loren Feldman

I run 1938 Media.

Robert Nelson

Tech Blogger, Web/Internet Entrepreneur, New Media Junkie, all around geek, endurance athlete, proud husband and father!

Jeremiah Owyang

Currently employed as Senior Analyst, Social Computing, Forrester Research

Liz Strauss

Social Web Strategist – I show businesses & universities how to choose and use social media tools to make business growth faster, easier.

Paisano

Editor-in-Chief, Dadomatic.com. I.T. Professional, writer, blogger, inventor, artist, poet. Writes for Mashable.com and many others.

Erik Hersman

Where Africa and technology collide… and other stuff.

Chris Garrett

Web geek and co-author of ProBloggerBook.com.

Andy Beard

SEO, Blogging, Social Media, Online Marketing & other boring geek stuff

Owen Cutajar

Your friendly neighborhood geek.

Jeremy Schoemaker

Skills to pay the bills.

Saul Colt

Smartest Man in the World (and Head of Magic @ FreshBooks)

Sarah Evans

PR professional, social media freak, guest writer @Mashable, founder of #journchat & Top 50 Tweeples contest

There are many other people I am watching, some of them I don’t want acknowledge because they are my little secret weapon. If you are watching someone that isn’t on this list let me know, maybe we can trade notes ; )

Ohhhh and you can follow me on twitter too.

Ted Murphy
In events

Help a CES Newb

Next month I will be attending CES in Las Vegas for the first time. I have wanted to go for years, but somehow it never fit into my schedule. I am totally fired up to see the next generated of tech nerd gadgets and catch up with some blogging buddies. I have heard great things about the show, but I have also heard it can be overwhelming.

I need your help!

What should I pack? Where should I spend my time? What parties should I attend? How do I get an invite? Are there any other bits of advice you have to offer? Any feedback is much appreciated.