As I mentioned in a previous blog entry, I am coordinating my effort to apply a personal brand to my on-line presence. When someone finds me on-line, I want them to get the same information and same look and feel no matter where they find me. My blog was the beginning. This weekend, I applied a new TwitBack to my Twitter account. The look and feel matches the blog here. As I can not do the same theme applications with Facebook, LinkedIN, or Slideshare, I need to make the content match. That will happen this week. The next step is to take this branded look and feel to the real world. I am working on Moo card that I can use when I got to social media and networking events, like Social Media Club Chicago. While I always want to introduce myself as a technology evangelist at PSC, I do not always want to lead that discussion with a PSC business card. So here is the first round of ideas for the Moo cards: Now these are not the final version by far. I think the font that is used for my na

In the United States, today is Memorial Day. It is the traditional unofficial start to the summer season here, with swimming pools, beaches, and other summer activities opening. It is a national holiday and a day of bbqing, seeing a 'summer blockbuster' movie and much more (it also happens to be a day to watch Chicago Blackhawk hockey for the first time in 16 years ... :-) ). But Memorial Day is about honoring our veterans. It is the day to say thank you to all of the men and women that have fought to protect the ideals of the United States of America. It is a day to honor those that have given their lives in combat and those that came home. As we grill some dead animal over the fire / coals today and drink that beer, I hope everyone remembers those that made days like today possible. For me, this year was very special. I was able to visit my father's family's graves in Orlando yesterday with my father. We honored my grandfather, John William 'Jack' Head, and my great grandfather, Cl

As I mentioned before, PSC commissioned Pete Wiltjer Marketing Group to do a Technology Resources Survey. The forth question we asked technology executives was "What are your most trusted information sources" Here are the results: It should surprise no one that face-to-face or referrals was the top vote getter. The result I find most interesting is that Magazines ranked fourth out of nine, ahead of trade shows, vendor sales representatives, and the vendor website. Personally, I do not read any technology magazines any more. I read the Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, and Business Week regularly (daily/weekly) on my Kindle, but besides that its a rare PC Gamer or culinary magazine. Blog and technology news websites have replaced the magazine resource for me. What are your trusted sources? Do you still rely on magazines and newsletters? Have you moved your research to websites as I have? Part 5 will cover the top applications used in research and is coming soon.

Here is what's coming out today ... Movies By Brakhage: An Anthology, Volume 2: The Criterion Collection Eclipse Series 21: Oshima's Outlaw Sixties Flashpoint: Season #2 Goth Guild, The: Season #3 Hard Ride To Hell Justice League: The Complete Series (15 Discs) Leverage: Season #2 Marked: Season #1 Mystery Team Real Housewives Of New York: Season #1, #2 Red vs. Blue: Blood Gulch Chronicles: Complete Series Road, The (2009) Royal Pains: Season #1 Stagecoach: The Criterion Collection Top Chef: Masters Season #1 True Blood: Season #2 (Blu-Ray) (#2 in the DVDPS Top 40) True Blood: Season #2 (#8 in the DVDPS Top 40) UFC: The Ultimate Fighter: Season #10 Virginian: Season #1 Waiting For God: Season #5 Waiting For God: The Complete Series Walkabout: The Criterion Collection (Blu-Ray) (#22 in the DVDPS Top 40) Walkabout: 2-Disc Edition: The Criterion Collection White Wall Computer Games UFC Undisputed 2010 ( Xbox 360) Blur ( Xbox 360) Backyard Sports: Sandlot Sluggers ( Xbox 360) High S

If you have a PC, you need to check out Soluto. Soluto - How to use Soluto Beta from Soluto on Vimeo. Now, you can go to their page and try to download, but don't be surprised if you can't right now. I hear they are getting hammered. How important is your computer boot time? Is software like this worth the time and effort? For some, very much so. Others won't care one bit. What I find more interesting then their software is the PC Genome project they are starting. A wiki that allows you to catalog your entire computer? That could have some great implications for support.

I often get asked about PSC and what we do. I get asked this by potential customers who do not know us at all. I get asked this by folks in the social media world who only know me and my on-line presence. I also get asked this by folks in the Lotus community who do not realize that IBM is just one of our technology focus areas. We put these slides together as an introduction to PSC Group. About PSC GroupView more presentations from PSC Group .

As I mentioned before, PSC commissioned Pete Wiltjer Marketing Group to do a Technology Resources Survey. The third question we asked technology executives was "What are your top 5 information sources? " Here are the results: Some further thoughts on the results: 1. 92% of respondents rated Internet search as one of their Top 3 information sources. 2. 69% rated Face-to-face referral or referral from personal network as one of their Top 3 sources of information. The one item here that really speaks to me is newsletters being the lowest ranked of all information sources in the survey. With so many people trying to move content to a newsletter, this should be a warning for them. I get it, newsletters allow for focus. But let's cut to the chase, newsletters are also about selling advertising space. Content is better served on a blog or website where it can be consumed free of charge and without distracting ads. If the content is good, the business will follow. What are your to

I had the pleasure of attending the Chicagoland Underground Social Media Society event last night. Kim Redd of @reddsmitty fame (and in the day, selling RapLeaf) gave a great presentation on Twitter. Entitled "14 Insane twitter Tips for Business & Other Social Media Nuggets". Here were the tips: Follow everyone back .. Yes, even the porn stars Your Avatar? Your Headshot! Add YOUR name to the profile Engage your followers Find more followers Listen Respond Be Thankful DO NOT USE AUTO D.M.s Never use DMs for pitching products or offers Tweet conservatively - The internet is permanent Compliment others, generously Schedule a TweetUp - Meet the people you talk to on-line Use Tools Great tips for people new to social media. Great review for the rest of us. She had more to share, but I will link to her presentation on SlideShare (once she posts it of course)

As I mentioned before, PSC commissioned Pete Wiltjer Marketing Group to do a Technology Resources Survey. The second question we asked technology executives was "What are your top 5 priorities in 2010? " Here are the results: Some interesting statistics that came from the results: 1. Over 50% of respondents selected "Business application and information integration" as their number one priority in 2010. 2. 85% of the respondents selected "Business application and information integration" as one of their top three priorities in 2010. One of the things that I find interesting is that virtualization ranked sixth out of nine. I wonder if that is because companies are done with their virtualization (hard to believe) or they see 2010 as doing quick 'wins' after a very hard 2009. How does this measure to what your priorities are for 2010? Part 3 covers top information sources and will be covered next.

As I mentioned before, PSC commissioned Pete Wiltjer Marketing Group to do a Technology Resources Survey. The first question we asked technology executives was "What are your top 3 technology pain points?" Here are the results: I don't think that anyone out there will be surprised that ROI, business demands, and efficient and effective technology are the top three. The one item that I find interesting is that "keeping up with the pace of technology change" was ranked six out of eight. We see so much change happen in the technology world on a daily basis. Techcrunch and Mashable and all of the other sites that track the Social Media and Web 2.0 world. I think what we are told and what really happens are totally different. Something I have thought about quite a bit lately, nice to see that thought measured. How does this track with what you see and hear in the marketplace? Part 2 covers the Top 2010 priorities will be covered next.

If you are a fan of hard rock, you know who Ronnie James Dio is. Today he passed away after a year long battle with stomach cancer. Ronnie will be missed, not only for his voice, but for being one of the nicest men in the business. I wanted to share a something of Ronnie on this blog entry. I thought I would grab a video of him performing, but I found this instead. Here is Ronnie fighting cancer just one month ago. He is gracious to his doctors. His attitude is one of kicking cancers butt and getting back on stage. That didn't happen, but I think the message is one everyone needs to hear.

As the US and global economy comes out of what we can all call a slow 2009, companies are making technology investments in 2010. At PSC Group, LLC , we decided to do a survey of customers, prospects, and local technology leaders. We wanted to get a better understanding of what decisions do technology executives think they will make this year and how. To do this, we partnered with Pete Wiltjer Marketing Group to survey a group of people and produce a report. PSC has decided to share this report externally and will post it online the first week of June. In the meantime, I am going to blog some of the results. Over the next couple weeks, I will blog about the following topics: Technology Paint Points Top 2010 Priorities Top Information Sources Trusted Sources Top Applications Used to Research Technology Purchases Research Influence on Decision Making This report is a bit specific to the types of customers that PSC does (or wants to do) business with, but I think it will be a great rea

Here is what's coming out today ... Movies Bandit Of Sherwood Forest, The Daria: The Complete Animated Series (#4 in the DVDPS Top 40) Daybreakers Deadliest Warrior: Season #1 Edge Of Darkness Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air, The: Season #5 Goth Huntik: The Complete Series Legion My Wife & Kids: Season #2 Nature's Splendor Nature's Tapestry One Piece: Season #2: Seventh Voyage Prince Of Thieves, The Raising The Bar: Season #2 Rita Rocks: Season #1 Rogues Of Sherwood Forest Sherri: Season #1 Shin Chan: Season #1 Shin Chan: Season #2 Sword Of Sherwood Forest Swords: Life On The Line: The Complete Season Toy Story 2: SE Toy Story: SE Virtuality thirtysomething: Season #3 Computer Games Skate 3 ( Xbox 360) Lost Planet 2 (Xbox 360) Batman Arkham Asylum: Game of the Year (Xbox 360) Brooklyn Universal Inductive Charger ( Nintendo DS, Nintendo Wii, Xbox 360) 3D Dot Game Heroes ( PLAYSTATION 3) Skate 3 ( PLAYSTATION 3) Lost Planet 2 ( PLAYSTATION 3) Batman Arkham Asylum: Game of the Year ( P

So just about 3 weeks ago I wrote about how fast the Notes 8.5.2 client was on my new Dell desktop. The numbers got a lot of attention, but there was a bunch of chatter from folks that the machine was not standard. I agree, it's not a standard desktop in the business world. I am lucky enough to have gotten a second new machine in the same time frame, this time replacing my laptop. I got the Lenovo Thinkpad T410s. Here are the specs: Lenovo Thinkpad T410s i5 540 @ 2.53 Ghz 4 Gigs of Ram 128 Gig SSD Hard Drive nVidia NVS 3100M and lots more that don't have any effect on the Notes client (WiMAX, Verizon WAN, eSata, DisplayPort, BluRay Drive, Touch Screen, etc) I installed the Notes client 8.5.2 CD 4 / M2 release. Here are the times: Cold Boot (I restarted the computer, made sure Symphony wasn't preloaded, and started Notes from the Start Bar) 1.65 seconds to the login prompt 2.39 seconds from clicking OK on the login prompt to the Workspace - meaning I could click on a database icon

Here is what's coming out today ... Movies 9: Nine According To Jim: Season #2 Armageddon (Blu-Ray) (#34 in the DVDPS Top 40) Cold Storage Crime Of Passion Darker Than Black: Complete Season #1 Dirt: Season #2 Dirty Dancing: Limited Keepsake Edition (With Book) Doctor Zhivago: Anniversary Edition (Blu-Ray) (#12 in the DVDPS Top 40) Doctor Zhivago: Anniversary Edition Facts of Life: Season #4 Flash Gordon (Savior of the Universe Edition) (#5 in the DVDPS Top 40) Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air, The: Season #5 Hamlet (2009) I Love Lucy: The Movie And Other Great Rarities Iron Man: Armored Adventures: Season #1 Iron Man: The Complete 1994 Animated Television Series Marcus Welby, M.D.: Season #1 Moment After 2, The: The Awakening Penn & Teller: Bullshit! Season #7 (Uncensored) Preacher's Kid Saturday Morning Cartoons: 1980's: Volume One Saving Private Ryan: Sapphire Series (Blu-Ray) (#3 in the DVDPS Top 40) Tracey Ullman's State Of The Union: Season #2 Whitest Kids U Know, The: Season #3: