Christmas in Lakeway, Texas 2009

Movember Helped Me Confront My Fear of Cancer

Movember is a movement in which men grow moustaches during the month of November to create awareness of mens' health, in particular prostate and testicular cancer. It was founded in Australia in 2003 and first supported cancer awareness in 2004.

“The month formerly known as November is a moustache growing charity event held during November each year that raises funds and awareness for men's health.”
- Movember Foundation United States

Many technology and marketing professionals in my hometown of Austin are active participants in Movember. People like Aaron Strout and Simon Salt are active on a local team named Team SocMed Austin. While Joe Flowers up in Dallas is a leader for Team International Sexy. I followed and supported these teams throughout Movember, and I encourage you to do so today by making a donation and by promoting them to your networks on Facebook and Twitter.

Meanwhile, Movember has a deeply personal meaning to me. About a decade ago, I lost my father to prostate cancer at the far-too-young age of 65. He died as the cancer was detected too late, because he did not want to go to the doctor for an exam. This meant that my now 14-year-old son only knew this wonderful man for a brief time.

Movember to me meant that I could not shave until I got a prostate exam. I hope moving forward it means this to all men over the age of 40 or in a high-risk group. I had my exam on Monday, November 23rd. The doctor gave me the results: “I found a nodule. I need you to see a urologist as soon as possible.”

Thanksgiving was a wonderful holiday with family and friends. Yet it was filled with periods of intense anxiety and concern, especially when I was alone. I know I am a young man at age 43. And I know that I am healthy, as my recent physical indicated. Yet when you hear news like what my doctor told me, you can’t help but have your mind wander to scary questions.

What if I have cancer? What if it is severe? How will it be treated? Will my insurance cover it? Will I be around for my wife and son?

My visit to the urologist was earlier this week. He confirmed my primary physician’s findings and ordered a blood draw to test my PSA level and scheduled a biopsy for this Friday. Yet, there was some relief in that the urologist told me “I’m betting you don't have cancer, but even if you do it will be early stage and fully treatable.” I asked how and he explained that surgery would be the appropriate course for someone my age. OK I thought, that sounds manageable.

Yesterday I received a call from the urologist’s office. My PSA levels are normal. Wheh. Relief.

Next Movember, I will see my doctor again for another check up. In the meantime, I will enjoy every moment of life and time with my family just a bit more.

Thank you Aaron, Simon, Joe and everyone else who participated in Movember. I hope to see many of you at the Austin Movember Gala Parte tonight at Six.

New Year's Day by Slaid Cleaves, Saxon Pub in Austin

Slaid Cleaves performed live at Saxon Pub in Austin, Texas the night before Thanksgiving November 25, 2009. I went with my sister Tamara and brother Rick from California. It was a great show and a fabulous night topped off with pancakes at Kerby Lane Cafe. And we've got the syrup to prove it! You can ask Man Ray.

Here's a video of the last song he played that night. New Year's Day is beautiful song with fantastic lyrics.


After the show, I asked Slaid if I could post some videos I took on YouTube. He replied "Sure thing, you can't stop it anyway." I commented that it helps promote your music. So if you like what you hear, please check out more of Slaid's music at www.slaid.com, go see his shows and buy his CDs.

In the picture below, my brother-in-law Rick asked Slaid to sign his CD for his wife. Slaid asked "what's her name?" and I interjected "Rick." We all laughed. Good times, good people and good music.

Get Off Your Computer & Love Your Life

Four weeks ago my wife and I quit Farmville and a bunch of other time eating online activities. During this period, I have rarely touched a computer on the weekend. My free time has instead been spent with my wife and son in the backyard creating a family sanctuary. Looking back, it is amazing what we can accomplish in just one month of weekends.

Here's a pictorial record of the creation of Love Life Gardens in the back yard of our home at the west end of Austin in the Texas Hill Country.


Consider how you spend your free time. If you're connecting more with Tweeps and Facebook friends than your own family, I suggest you step away from the screens and look those you love in eye. Go for a walk, pull some weeds, play a board game... connect with the few people who matter most in your life. I bet they miss you.

The Day the Music Thrived on the Social Web

The music industry shone brightly Monday on the social web with a wide variety of highlights occurring simultaneously across a diverse set of social networking sites. Perhaps these events are indications of a change in tide for the oft-beleaguered industry.

It's been a full decade since Napster changed music distribution forever. That seems like a long time to wait for a good solution, but progress is happening. Just last week, industry leaders including Amazon, Apple, Nokia and Universal Music Group signed a potentially historic online distribution agreement with the 27-nation European Union.

Ultimately success for the music industry is reliant upon its ability to deliver quality content to consumers in compelling ways. This is precisely why it is great to see such a variety of innovative music momentum across the social web today.

U2 360 Concert Broadcast Worldwide via YouTube
Sunday night in Pasadena, California, U2 performed in front of a Rose Bowl packed with 96,000 fans. Also in the stadium were four dozen cameras and the latest in video technology used to broadcast the concert live to millions of fans worldwide via YouTube. A rebroadcast of the U2 Live from the Rose Bowl concert can be seen on YouTube.


Guitar Hero is the First Videogame with a Million Fans on Facebook
Activision announced an industry first today when Guitar Hero surpassed a million fans on Facebook. Considering that The Beatles: Rock Band recently topped the heavyweight, this was good cause for celebration. It's interesting to watch how entertainment such as music and gaming can be combined to drive success.

Alice In Chains Launches Black Gives Way To Blue iPhone App
I was quite impressed with the extent of content and diverse functionality featured in the iPhone application launching tomorrow in support of the new Alice In Chains release Black Gives Way To Blue. In addition to music, photos and video, the app lets you check out tour dates, buy concert tickets and merchandise, and share via Facebook, Twitter and email. There's a nice demo of the application on the Music Ally blog.

Meanwhile, iconic rockers Metallica release a not so innovative finger-tapping music app called "Tap Tap Revenge: Metallica" Tuesday. This is a game in the style of Guitar Hero and Rock Band. Developed by Tapulous, it is similar to apps previously released to promote Lady Gaga, Coldplay and Nine Inch Nails.

MySpace & Amazon used for Them Crooked Vultures Pre-Release Teaser
The much anticipated album by rock supergroup Them Crooked Vultures won't be released until mid November. The band features an impressive line up including John Paul Jones, Dave Grohl and Josh Homme.

DGC/Interscope gave fans a taste of what to expect by launching an exclusive single premiere of "New Fang" Monday on MySpace. The page includes a "Pre Order Now on Amazon.com" call to action in the main hero graphic. This pre-launch effort is presently supported with a simple web site, YouTube channel, Twitter account and Facebook page that already has over 50,000 fans.

#MusicMonday All Abuzz on Twitter
With music industry activity like the things discussed above, it's no wonder people are talking music on Twitter. The phrase #musicmonday trended in the top two spots all day long on the leading micro-blog site. People include the tag in Tweets about music they like. Some use it to identify what they are listening to at the moment, while others post links to songs or videos.

"If you don't like change, you're going to like irrelevance even less."
~ General Eric Shinseki, Chief of Staff, U.S. Army

Social Keeps Pushing Innovation in Music Distribution & Sharing
Online heavy hitters Google and Facebook are making moves to enhance online search, sharing and sampling of music. They're leveraging services like Lala, iLike and Imeen to power their offerings. Keep an eye on Lala's Facebook presence over the next few months. Brad Stone covered the story for the New York Times last week "Hot on Heels of Google, Facebook to Take First Step into Music." Facebook's own Will Chen recently offered a sneak peak of their approach to gifting music in a blog entry entitled "A New Tune for Facebook Gifts."

Considering how Facebook came out of nowhere to outplay everyone in the photo sharing game over the last two years, I'll certainly be keeping a close eye on how they integrate music into the world's leading social network.

Gaming Goes Social: Farmville Thrives on Facebook

Farmville has enjoyed explosive growth since being introduced on Facebook on June 20, 2009. Currently, over 56 million people play the game each month according to an article published last week by USA Today. "For social networks, it's game on" details the killer combination of casual games and social networks. I suggest you read the article, as it offers great insights and statistics.

"An estimated 100 million people are recent devotees of social games such as FarmVille, Mafia Wars, Sorority Life and Bejeweled." the USA Today article explains. These games are easy to play and fun; and they're free for the most part. Yet the industry is generating significant revenue via micro-transactions of game add-ons as well as ad revenue from display banners.

For marketers, this is one more example of how important Facebook is becoming as a means to reach consumers. Marketing on Facebook is fishing where the fish are.

So it's quite apparent that I am not alone in my recent effort to reclaim time in reality that was temporarily lost to social gaming: read "How do we best spend our time?" In fact, a Google search of Farmville addict returns 170,000 results. And results on YouTube are significant as well, with admissions of addiction, Farmville interventions and even an interesting take on what Hitler would do if he found out about the rotten eggplants.

Personally, I'm happy I quit Farmville. The family and I actually planted a real farm this last weekend. Well, we built and installed three above-ground gardens. It was a lot of work and a great family activity. I will share more on my real-world farming adventure soon. Until then... have fun in the digital space, but stay well grounded in the real world.

Facebook Supercharges Brands' Digital Marketing

Facebook is burgeoning. Over 300 million active users with 50% or more logging on each day. Hitwise recently clocked its traffic being in the neighborhood of a 60% share of US-based social activity. Last summer, Mashable reported that people share more content via Facebook than email (source: AddToAny).

Brands like VW and Bud Light are savvy to this. They are integrating and leveraging the power of Facebook into their marketing. Notice how they use custom tabs on their pages to present fully controlled messaging. Importantly, brands can leverage the data power of FBML within this controlled presence.

Try the VW "Analyze Me" tool and you might be shocked at what it immediately knows about you.

While these pages aren't replacing their brand.com sites, they are at the forefront in connecting with consumers online; and serve as an important touch point and traffic driver. If your brand targets consumers and isn't doing this kind of social media marketing, you should be considering it now.

I love this shift! This continuum in the evolution of communications is what makes my career invigorating. I love learning the lay of the land in emerging media; and then applying classic business and marketing principles to them.

I am fortunate enough to work with some amazing visionary clients and fantastic people at BOSSdev to create compelling Facebook solutions. I'm tipping my hat towards you, Mr. K. Alan Robbins.

Are you creating branded presences on Facebook for your company or your clients? Are you planning to do so? I would love to hear your stories and opinions.

How best do we spend our time?

We all are challenged by the limited resource of time in our lives. For the last four days, I have been down with the flu sleeping as much as possible. This downtime has led to some re-evaluation of how I spend my time. This thought process actually started a few days earlier, when my wife and I were discussing an article I shared with her about the risks associated with some social media activities.

"Top Facebook Applications Vulnerable to XSS and SQLi: Highlights the risks of trusting third-party apps"
In reference to Farmville and Causes, the top two applications on Facebook, the article states: "Both applications contained cross-site scripting vulnerabilities that could have been exploited to perform a wide range of attacks, from exposing personal information from a user's profile to launching a social networking worm that propagates through clickjacking." Yikes! That is not the kind of exposure I want.

After reading the article, my wife said "Instead of wasting time fake farming, I could be learning to cook amazing things on Rouxbe for the holidays when the family comes to visit." Rouxbe is a beautiful and informative online cooking school to which I purchased a lifetime membership for my wife. Christine's comment brought a smile to my face.

So while I was home sick over the weekend I eliminated about seventy percent of my applications on Facebook, left about forty groups and/or pages, tightened up my privacy settings and cut out almost all Facebook notifications to my email. Then in my personal email account, I unsubscribed to about thirty emails; and cut my inbox down from about 400 to forty emails.

How will I spend all this time saved?
There are some things that I need to do more. Listening, walking, jogging, stretching, reading and writing are among them. So I have committed to do more of these things, in place of some of the mindless online activities I have eliminated.

Yesterday, I went out to the garage and pulled out a box of old books that I would like to read. Since I recently attended the Wizard Academy out in the Texas Hill Country west of Austin, I dusted off a copy of Greek Tragedies. Mythology and storytelling are very important in understanding our world; and can help immensely in making us more compelling communicators.

I must admit that understanding mythology is not one of my strengths, all the more reason to study up. However, I did find the following beautiful and wise.
"Justice so moves that those only learn who suffer; and the future you shall know when it has come; before then, forget it. It is grief too soon given. All will come clear in the next dawn's sunlight."
~Chorus of Argive Elders,
Agamemnon of the trilogy The Oresteia

What are some ways that you would like to change how you spend your time?

A day in the rain at Austin City Limits 2009

My son Ayrton and I went to Austin City Limits in the pouring rain last Saturday. We were both fully decked out in protective and waterproof gear and did our best to stay dry. Here are some photos from our experience.

Ghostland Observatory Performs "Rich Man" at Austin City Limits 2009

Geeky Rockstars Are Nice, But They Don't Sell Like Relevance

I just read an interesting blog post from Andrew Austin on the YourStoryAlive blog. Entitled "Corporations Aren't People - People Are People" - it praises the current Intel TV campaign for adding a human touch to the brand.


That's nice, but I don't believe "nice" sells in today's market
While I kind of like that commercial and agree it adds a human touch to Intel, I don't believe it increases my affinity for their brand or likelihood to purchase or recommend Intel (Net Promoter Score). Note that I purchased a laptop in the last 30 days and actually bought one with an AMD chip.

I have long been an advocate of the need for brands to build meaningful connections with consumers. However, I feel in this case that the ad may be a little self indulgent, particularly in consideration of the economy. It's more about Intel than the consumer. Right now, most consumers need value and trust.

Why Hyundai's Assurance Left the Competition in the Dust
To this point, this is why Joel Ewanick of Hyundai was recently awarded Brandweek's Grand Marketer of the Year '09. He made their marketing about the consumers, not Hyundai. Ewanick puts it this way:
“We kept saying, ‘Why aren’t you buying a car right now? You say you want to buy one, but you’re not doing it!’”... Finally, he hit pay dirt. “It turned out they were in a fearful state. And once you understand that fear, then you can come up with something like Assurance.”

Now that is marketing that is relevant to consumers right now. Most importantly, it worked! "Hyundai Motor America and its affiliate, Kia Motor America, accounted for 8 percent of the new-vehicle market in the United States in August, more than Chrysler’s 7.4 percent." Read more about Hyundai's recent success in this New York Times article "With Low Prices, Hyundai Builds Market Share."

The first TV spot in the series even starts with the statement "This is a car commercial, but it's not about cars... it's about the people who buy them." Note it didn't say "it's about the people who make them."


Hyundai's doing it right! That's my two cents... and those two cents mean more to me now than they did a year ago,

Business & Pleasure at Camelback in Scottsdale, AZ

Last week I had the pleasure of presenting at the National Association of Dental Plans 21st Annual Conference at Camelback Inn in Scottsdale, Arizona. I presented for BOSSdev, Inc. on the topic of social media as it relates specifically to business and, in particular, the dental industry. The session had an excellent turnout and was very well received.

You can view our download the slides from my presentation here:

NADP Convention: Wrapping Your Head Around Social Media for the Dental Heathcare Industry

View more presentations from Korye Logan.

I would like to thank the director of this event, Jeff Hurt for the invitation to speak and for his gracious hospitality. I highly suggest following Jeff on Twitter and on his blog Midcourse Corrections. Additionally, I wish to thank Joe Flowers of the NADP for his support during the event. Follow Joe on Twitter and at I Need Dental Benefits.

Once the event concluded, I had the opportunity to stick around Camelback for the weekend and enjoy the resort with my wife and some friends from Arizona. It is a beautiful and even magical place "where time stands still." Here are some photos from my stay.



If you are interested in learning more about the presentation I made or you would like me to speak at an upcoming webinar or event, please contact me via this blog, on Twitter or at 512.608.1460. BOSSdev is an an Interactive and Social Media company dedicated to delivering highly engaging digital communications solutions.

Quails Bathing in the Cool Dirt in Scottsdale, AZ

My wife and I enjoyed watching this family of quail bathe in the cool dirt during our nightly sunset walk at Camelback Inn in Scottsdale, Arizona. There were many animals on the grounds and they were not nearly as skittish as I am accustomed to seeing. Their collectively calm demeanor helped us to relax even more at the place where time stands still.

Hamilton Pool & Grotto near Austin, Texas

Hamilton pool and grotto is an amazing natural recreational spot located just minutes west of Austin, Texas up near Lake Travis. It's a great day trip destination. Be sure to plan your visit well, as they only allow a limited number of visitors at a time. This is wonderful as it keeps the spot from getting overcrowded, but it could mean you'll be waiting in your car for an hour to get in.

Here's a brief video I took of Hamilton pool and grotto:

Chicago: Good Times 2009

Christine and I just returned from an incredibly fun weekend together in Chicago. I was in town for work, so we found a great deal on a hotel and stayed a few extra days. We enjoyed a very nice time together, great jazz at Andy's on Hubbard, hilarious comedy at Second City and fantastic food at Yolk, Downtown Dogs and Giorando's. Most of our trip was spent in River North in the Near North Side of Chicago. Below is a slideshow with a few photos from our adventures.

We know so little about Iran. How can we show support?

If you're like me, your heart is with all the incredibly valiant people in Iran that are struggling for freedom, justice and a voice in their nation's future. Yet beyond our sincere empathy, it is an incredibly complex situation to try to even begin to understand.

So the elections were fixed. Are Mousavi's politics significantly different and better than those of Ahmadinejad? Would US intervention help or hurt the situation? Can this conflict be solved in months or will it take years or even decades for real change? What can I do individually and what should I do to help those struggling for a better Iran?

In my quest to understand these things better, I found some solace in that social networking and citizen journalism seem to be helping to some degree. I found the following articles helpful and informative:

Citizen journalism on the rise in Iran - Tom Silva, Chicago Tribune, June 22, 2009

"What's also extraordinary is technology hatched in America's micro blogging has delivered to this movement the power of instant expression and instant appeal to the court of world opinion."

Western Media Inaccuracy & The Iran Twitter Grid - Time King, Salem News, June 22, 2009

"If anyone is on twitter, please set your location to Tehran and your time zone to GMT +3.30. Iranian security forces are hunting for bloggers using location/timezone searches. The more people at this location, the more of a logjam it creates for forces trying to shut Iranians' access to the internet down. Cut & paste & pass it on."

Iran's Revolution: A Hard and Uncertain Path - Howard Schweber, The Huffington Post, June 22, 2009

"The Iranian government is dominated by a generation that remembers not only the Revolution of 1979, but more immediately the Iran-Iraq War with its million Iranian dead. The basijis who are doing the skull-cracking and shooting now are the same force that launched suicidal human wave attacks against much better (American) armed Iraqi forces in the marshes."

They May Not Want The Bomb - Fareed Zakari, Newsweek, May 23, 2009

"Everything you know about Iran is wrong, or at least more complicated than you think. Take the bomb. The regime wants to be a nuclear power but could well be happy with a peaceful civilian program... The country's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, issued a fatwa in 2004 describing the use of nuclear weapons as immoral. In a subsequent sermon, he declared that "developing, producing or stockpiling nuclear weapons is forbidden under Islam."

While many Iranians fear making their names known publicly, this revolution now has a human face. Neda Agha Soltan was tragically killed Saturday during fierce clashes that left at least 13 dead. She has not died in vain, as she has been immortalized as the "Angel of Iran."

It is my hope that this situation leads to greater empathy, tolerance and connectedness between people of disparate cultures. While it may not lead to the political change we desire, much like Tiananmen Square protests in China, it can create human bonds that did not previously exist.

Photo: Agence France-Presse

Twilight Ride at Navy Pier in Chicago

Close The Door - Goga

Oh my. Goga brings the house down with this stellar rendition of "Close The Door" by Teddy Pendergrass at the Intercontinental Hotel in Addison, Texas just north of Dallas in May of 2009.

Get Trained in CPR During National CPR & AED Awareness Week: June 1 - 7

The Pretenders Live @ Stubbs in Austin, TX

Christine and I enjoyed a very nice dinner at Chez Nous in downtown Austin. We recommend the Filet de boeuf Bordelaise. After dinner, we ventured over to Stubbs for the second time this weekend. Tonight's event was The Pretenders on their "Break Up The Concrete" tour which features a southern rockabilly flavor and features a slide guitarist. It was a great show and they played some rocking new tunes like "Books of Chinese Plastic" and loads of classic hits.

G. Love & Eric Hutchinson @ Stubbs in Austin, TX

Christine and I enjoyed a great concert Friday night at Stubbs in downtown Austin. G. Love & Special Sauce headlined and Eric Hutchinson was the opening act.

G. Love & Eric Hutchinson jammed together for a few songs.

Shawn Colvin @ One World Theater in Austin

Great performance by Shawn Colvin tonight at One World Theater in Austin, Texas. I enjoyed the concert with my wife Christine and her mother Arlene. I hope you enjoy this little video clip of "I'm Gone."

Social Media Case Study: Elf Yourself 2008

A key to success in interactive and social media is program optimization. In the third year of Elf Yourself, OfficeMax ran a seasonal online marketing campaign that overcame a lot of deficiencies from previous efforts. Better branding and a stronger focus on ROI were two of the biggest improvements.

I am fortunate to work at an interactive and social media company where program optimization is highly valued. The BOSSdev services team conducts a review after the launch of key client projects. This process is led by Jason Waack, our CTO. The knowledge gained is shared throughout our organization; and results in a culture dedicated to continual process improvement.

I have applied this approach to an analysis of this year's Elf Yourself campaign. You can read my take on what was done right and what can be improved at the BOSS|talk blog. I look forward to your feedback and welcome your comments.