Jeff Cutler – columns, essays and opinions

I’m sitting in a metal tube over the Rockies wondering about wandering. So frequently, we jump in a car, on a train or plane, to go somewhere other than where we are.

That’s odd. But understandable.

In my work as the social media trainer for the Society of Professional Journalists, I’ve had to jet around the country a handful of times already this year.

People travel for work and for fun, and there are great and less great things about the journeys. Here are a few of my woes and wows. Feel free to share yours.

People are self-focused. Whether in a car or on a plane, people camp in the fast lane, imperil your life and take too much room. They bring too much luggage, stench and attitude with them. And they frequently annoy me.

Companies are similar in their approach. They don’t seem to care about customers and that can get annoying too. I ran into that when I landed.

First, let me say the Las Vegas Hilton is a money-grubbing organization and I feel disgusted by them. In January they hosed me for $30 to park my car in their garage during CES.

The parking fee isn’t something new, they do it a couple times a year for large conferences. But the rest of the year the parking in the garage is FREE. AND the parking in the garage is FREE at certain times of the day. So if you’re unlucky enough to pull into the Hilton during FEE times, you get dinged for cash while someone else who arrives later or leaves a car overnight, pays nothing.

OK, that’s a little whining. Well, on this trip to Vegas I took the shuttle from the airport and here’s my trip of tears…

Front desk – room isn’t ready

Business center – yes, we have packages for you. That’ will be $10 per package plus tax. $55 for packages mailed to me at the hotel. What the heck?!! I’m staying at your hotel.

Front desk – we can’t waive fee because it’s a different company that does our business center, but it’s the same at all Hiltons (#FAIL).

Baggage claim (now that I had six packages in my arms and my bags and no room ready) – sorry, we can’t check packages, only luggage.

Front desk – well that’s their policy. But your room is ready now.

Nice way to make me want to stay here ever again. Good work Las Vegas Hilton – you blow!

In essence, before you get too cranky, the thing to pay attention to is that most customer service reps don’t have any control over your situation. But I wish more of them would pretend to care when a bag gets lost or they ram you with the beverage cart or their freaking vendors IN THEIR OWN HOTEL ream you for nearly $60 just to receive mail.

On the upside, travel IS fun. OK, it can be fun.

You get to see cool things….

You get to meet neat people and experience different foods and cultures. In fact, my favorite travel site recently is New York City and my favorite all-time is tied between Bermuda, Paris, Hawaii and another place (leaving that other place open so I can insert some places I know I’m forgetting).

You also get to relax, if you can. My modus operandi is to try and spend at least nine days in a place. Mostly because it takes me three days to relax. That still gives me almost a week of ‘real’ vacation.

Well, I’m writing this in a hotel room in Las Vegas and should probably get back to the conference. Hope your journeys are all satisfying. Chat soon.

Keep reading…and feel free to share your comments about travel.

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Tags: #rtdna, delta, Las Vegas, new york, SPJ, travel

Just a quick list of some stuff I saw – along with links to their sites.

The rest of this week will feature a series of columns on my entire CES experience. Stay tuned!

ToolGuard – a loud, battery-powered alarm for your tool box. Not listed on their site yet, but it’s from Dynamco of Australia.

http://dynamco.com.au/

Album is a portible digital-photo storage in a 7-inch display. Stores up to 40,000 photos.

http://www.album-life.com/en/

Laptop to HDTV – watch your movies on your flatscreen.

http://www.alereon.com/

GPS transmitters to maintain tabs on your loved ones or employees.

http://blacklinegps.com/

Bluetooth headphones and in-ear pieces.

http://www.myblueant.com/index.php

Podcasting microphones from BlueMic – they make the Snowball, the Snowflake and the Yeti.

http://www.bluemic.com./

Sync and share your computer, mobile and the cloud.

http://www.dazzboard.com/

Videos and more on your TV, live streamed from your computer or similar device.

http://www.boxee.tv

Evaluate your own car – just plug it in. CarMD.

http://www.carmd.com/

Case-Mate has protective film that needs very little prep. They also introduced the HUG, the first real iPhone osmosis charger.

http://www.case-mate.com/

Collaborative authoring tool for your book. Use the Web to get input and feedback.

http://www.fastpencil.com/

Thermal imaging. It’s neat, but I’m not sure I’d know how to use it as a consumer – unless I was going to use a surface to surface missile to take out a skunk or a pesky rabbit.

http://www.flir.com/US/

The i-Mate is like a smartphone toughbook. Waterproof, drop-proof and built to meet military specs.

http://imate.com/

System software to help speed up your PC.

http://www.iolo.com/

Bluetooth headsets, earphones, earbuds and more. Flashy design, too.

http://www.jaybirdgear.com/

Find Song Lyrics and Download Ringtones. Over 600,000, including hard-to-find, songs. Might be like Mobile17.com, but with lyrics.

http://www.mspot.com/

My favorite smartphone cases. Love the durability and the access to all my iPhone’s functions. Also love the other sports cases they offer.

http://www.otterbox.com/

Tiny scanners that are portable and work fast.

http://www.planon.com/

The QUE is another content reader with cool partnerships and a nice design.

http://plasticlogic.com/

Pocket Radar. Why? I say why not? It’s a neat way to judge speeds. Use it for outdoor sports, baseball and even for calibrating your scooter’s notoriously bad speedometer. Handheld.

http://pocketradar.com/

Computer backup software. Partnered with Seagate…for the PC.

http://www.rebit.com/

One of my favorite headphone companies. I have a pair of traditional on-the-ear headphones for most of my podcasting and leisure use…I love them.

http://www.sennheiserusa.com/home

Radio to your smartphone.

http://www.slacker.com/

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Tags: CES, ces 2010, gadgets, Jeff Cutler, Las Vegas, technology

Just a quick handfull of photos to give readers a feel for the cattle call that is a #CES press conference.

Take a look at the shots here and tell me what you think.

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Tags: CES, Jeff Cutler, Las Vegas, led, samsung

OnStar and Chevy paired today to make an announcement about the start of Volt production and about some functionality OnStar is offering with a new car-connected mobile app.

Maria Rohrer – Director Chevy Volt Marketing said the car is “very real and on time.”

According to Rohrer, the Volt is an extended range electric vehicle.

To that end, OnStar has introduced and is working toward integrated electical management, stats and communication from drivers to their cars.

Sounds like it’s a robot car.

Additionally, OnStar has launched an app on multiple mobile platforms that allows owners to get car info, communicate and give commands to their car, and even see diagnostic info.

During the OnStar/Volt session, a person in the audience was able to lock the car doors on their Android phone via the app.

Crazy!

What’s your take?

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Tags: CES, chevy, Jeff Cutler, Las Vegas, onstar, volt

This thing was flying around tonight’s press event at the Venetian at #ces in Las Vegas.

Not sure exactly what it is, but it totally draws a crowd.

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Tags: CES, gadget, Jeff Cutler, Las Vegas

The world of mobile computing has seen tech vendors continually battling to develop smaller, faster and more powerful devices. Add to this consumer demands for durability and long battery life and you have a daunting task.

At today’s ASUS press conference in Las Vegas, representatives from the computer maker showed a few new laptops that could answer a growing list of user requirements.

While users look for more features in their laptops, netbooks and tablets, the line between traditional and new blurs. A netbook with a monster screen and heavy weight is not a netbook at all.

Jonney Shih – Chairman ASUS Tech. told attendees that ASUS experienced 56% growth in Q3 2009 over the same time of 2008.

Metrics and sales don’t mean their devices are better than others…but people are buying.

Here’s what Shih showed today…

G73 Mobile Computer for Power Computing and Gaming

“Happier wrists and hands,” said Shih are one result of the G73’s ergo slanted keyboard.

Shih said, we cannot ignore the rest of the market! Then intro’d a netbook designed by Karim Rashid.

Karim’s work has been in museums all over the world. With Karim’s design, ASUS wanted to make a group of netbooks that are also fashion accessories.

The case is designed to stand alone without a case…and it looks like a fancy purse.

Shih then talked about green products and showed a laptop made with bamboo. Really.

The series is called the ASUS U Series. The line features USB 3 and an intel CORE i5 chip.

About 30 minutes into the press conference I was still waiting for my socks to be knocked loose. Then it came. Shih showed us the future and it wasn’t small–it was MASSIVE.

Instead of a two-screen netbook, the NX Series is a big laptop with two touchpads, polished aluminum case and cinema surround sound.

What’s my take? Bah. This doesn’t really make me think people will flick to these laptops. Maybe the Karim series makes sense, but ASUS has gone bigger and feature-rich instead of small and swift machines.

What’s your take?

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Tags: asus, CEA, Jeff Cutler, Las Vegas, netbook

Woke up on this rainy morning and had an alert from Chris Brogan in my email box. It said he had a new blog post – big surprise – and I immediately read it because it featured poker player Andy Bloch.

I play a little poker and I’m pretty mediocre. I wouldn’t lose a bunch of money, but for a while I was slightly addicted. Not in a bad way…like my Internet addiction (doing email on a rainy Sunday when I could be having breakfast and putting photos of it up on NomX3 or WWJCE)…but I’d play frequently and lose about 52% of the time.

You might look at that figure and think I really stink, but if my math is correct, that means I’m losing about 2% of the time and doing OK the rest of the time. Not horrible at all.

I only got to be that good through the support of a friend of mine. He urged me to watch other players, read books on the game, and to analyze my own strategy.

Chris’ message today is one of support. Of how Andy helped out another player at the table. A big-time poker pro giving someone a little benefit just because he could.

It’s a lesson that if we have the tools at our disposal to help someone – regardless of whether we’ve gotten along in the past or whether our policies/beliefs align – what does it hurt to help out?

To me, this means putting in a good word for someone if you can. Introducing them to smarter people (that’s how we all improve). Going to their events and getting others to go. Making whatever community you’re a part of more cohesive instead of divisive.

Maybe I’m still groggy this morning and it’s making me sentimental.

Or maybe the rain is allowing me to see with clarity that if we don’t do unto others and share our support, friendships and relationships will wash away.

How are you helping support the people in your community?

Keep reading!

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Tags: Boston, Chris Brogan, Las Vegas, nomx3, poker, sitboaf, Tweetups, WWJCE

Sometimes I wonder if other jobs offer the same opportunity for snack adventures, celebrity sightings, wild weather, and marvelous vistas as do the handful of occupations I call my own.

That is, as a writer, journalist, content creator and commentator or columnist I’ve had the chance to see and experience some great things.

What brought this to mind? I was on This is Why You’re Fat – a fantastically heinous site that documents why Americans might be a little overweight. It documents this in photos. And I realized while clicking around tonight, that I’ve eaten one of the most ridiculous items featured on the site.

The Loco Moco.

That’s right. It’s a bed of rice topped with a hamburger patty which is then topped by an egg and then topped with some gravy.

I ate this while covering the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in January.

And I enjoyed this delightful meal with Steve Garfield, Greg Verdino, Joseph Jaffe and Melissa Pierce at the Planet Hollywood Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.

Was this type of excess necessary? Hardly.

Was it worth it? Certainly.

See the photo!

If you’ve ever eaten, seen, touched, met or experienced something mere mortals might not have had the chance to try, please share that here in the comments.

Thinking thin…but also pining for another Loco Moco.

Keep reading!

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Tags: #ces09, greg verdino, joseph jaffe, Las Vegas, Loco Moco, melissa pierce, steve garfield

I’m currently on a Fung Wah bus (bad judgement) from the Consumer Electronics Show Press Briefing (good judgement) and I’m trying to sort out the stuff I learned about this afternoon.

Everything I saw, save two items, was just an improvement on existing technology. If that’s what the world is about, that’s fine, but my editors are asking me to find the next great thing.

Perhaps that’s how all newsrooms operate. And I know that’s how it is after 20 years in the business. But in a down economy that’s seeing venture capital evaporate and layoffs come back at a greater pace than when F&*^%$Company.com was around, I don’t think miracles are going to show up on the CES Exhibit Floor.

Maybe I’m mistaken. Maybe the people like Motorola, with dual touchscreen technology will wow consumers and the media. Maybe miniature projectors will become the rage as kids decide to host parties where they can show YouTube videos on gym walls, and maybe headphone technology has taken another leap forward with advances in materials and sound limiter tech. But I’m not sure.

The event tonight promised to give us things to think about, and it did. It was totally worth the bus trip (barring a horrible, skin-scalding, shield your child’s eyes implosion) and the expense of $42 for transportation, $2 for a pretzel and $12 for a meal in Chinatown.

I think I have five solid stories. I have a new contact at Popular Science. I still have a shot at getting Diana Ross tickets. And I’m poised to make CES 2009 a masterpiece of journalistic perfection.

That being said, I am certainly glad I didn’t fly out here from California or even from another country. The paltry hall featuring 50 or so exhibitors was hardly worth a cross-country or international journey. Nor was the weak press conference.

The best info I got from being there early was that the coat check room was free and that CEA did a ton of great research that I’m gonna use for article background in January.

Other than that, the live filming of Jeopardy, the Diana Ross concert, the Silver Summit (seniors need apply), all was info that I could have gotten online from the comfort of my living room.

I’m not faulting the event, but am saying that in a time of fiscal conservativism, maybe this isn’t the way new media will be conducted. The open bar, great food and freebies from exhibitors may dry up again like they did in 2000. So doesn’t it make sense to pull in the reins a little bit now and save the industry than to go out with a monstrous bang?

I’m just asking becuase that seems to be my destiny as I hurtle homeward on Fung Wah.

Keep reading!

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Tags: #ces09, CEA, Consumer Electronics Show, death, destruction, Fung Wah, Jeff Cutler, Las Vegas, new york, NYC