Mobile Internet usage sees explosive growth http://amplify.com/u/jyux http://amplify.com/u/jyuy

What ideas are you harvesting for 2010? (my blog) http://amplify.com/u/jt7f http://amplify.com/u/jt7g

Whew! 12 Days of Christmas Costs $23K. http://www.walletpop.com/blog/2010/11/29/12-days-of-christmas-costs-23-439-pear-tree-included/ http://amplify.com/u/guhz

9 Characteristics of Great Chief Marketing Officers

http://www.thesocialcmo.com/blog/2010/11/9-characteristics-of-great-chief-marketing-officers/





Sent from John Weeden's iPhone.

See this Amp at http://amplify.com/u/ghpx

is analyzing the pros/cons of MODx CMS versus Joomla, WordPress, Expression Engine, and LightCMS. What works for you? #CMS http://amplify.com/u/fmsd

Celtics defeat the Heat. Is it me or is Shaq getting fat? http://amplify.com/u/f2oh

#Mondegreen of the Day: "Sweet Dream are Made of Cheese" by Eurythmics. http://amplify.com/u/eywt

Facebook has made the fonts smaller. Now I'm squintin' like Slick Willy Clinton. #facebook http://amplify.com/u/eigt

Halloween Candy Everywhere; It's Remarkable I'm Not Craving It

Monday mornings typically present a gloomy start to a work week—especially after a holiday weekend. Today as I meander towards the coffee machine to pour some caffeine to jump-start my brain cells, I notice a huge basket of Halloween candy on the break room table, leftover from last night's festivities. As sucker for chocolate, Sweet Tarts and other sugary confections, I would normally succumb to the call of the Sugar Fairy.



But that’s not the case today.



One of the ruins of eating a lot of sugar leads a person like me to crave for more. However, I am fortunate to be void of that desire. How so, one might ask? No, it’s not some miracle shake, green tea or strange pills—nothing to buy as a matter of fact. It just so happens that I have been limiting myself of foods loaded with sugar these past two months in an attempt to reduce my waistline. In addition to having more energy and some moderate weight loss, I have discovered an interesting by product—a loss of craving for the sugar in spite of easy accessibility of the Halloween candy everywhere. It’s not will power. It’s just a simple fact that my body is not craving to replace what it thinks it’s missing.



With the Christmas season rapidly approaching, you may be asking yourself “can I begin something like this today to loss the craving for sugar by Christmas?” If so, there is a way. But getting off of the sugar kick is not easy when starting out. Is there a regiment that will help get this started? Yes, there is.



What has worked for me is a diet that’s low in carbohydrates. There are programs out there, like Atkins, for example. Atkins is free, with the exception of buying the paperback book for around $10—probably less on Amazon than the typical book rack. Other programs that might work are Zone and South Beach. Although I have not tried those, Atkins works for me. Basically, Dr. Atkins encouraged his readers and patients to avoid many of the processed foods that are out there—especially sugar and other “bad carbs.” If we ate the less processed, less sugary and fewer mechanically sweetened foods like our ancestors did, we could opt-out of following the obesity trend in our society. Whichever program you choose, it’s important that you educate yourself on “good carbs” versus “bad carbs.”



If you research the programs now, and get started this week, you’ll be prepared to avoid the gluttony by Christmas—possibility even Thanksgiving. When your Holiday feasts are consumed responsibly, you’ll feel even better on New Year’s, a time when many people set weight loss goals. You’ll be ahead of the game/



All three of these plans, Atkins, South Beach and Zone can help you accomplish your goal of getting off of sugar, having more energy and living a healthier and more vibrant life. Check them out!



Happy November 1st—a new day to usher in the Holiday frenzy with sanity and reason.



Here are the Wikipedia links for these three programs:



Atkins:



http://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Atkins_diet



South Beach Diet:



http://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/South_Beach_Diet



Zone:



http://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Zone_diet

See this Amp at http://amplify.com/u/ecy4

It's a fun afternoon. I'm tallying up the votes for the employee costume contest at work. http://amplify.com/u/e7mm

Protecting your Facebook and Twitter accounts from Firesheep hijacks

If you haven't heard, there's a new Firefox plugin called #Firesheep which enables people in public places to remotely hijack your Facebook/Twitter and other accounts when you're using free public WiFi. More than 70,000 people a day are downloading this evil tool. Scary stuff. To protect yourself check out & install "HTTPS Everywhere." https://www.eff.org/https-everywhere



I've installed this; and it's free. It encrypts Facebook, Twitter, Google and more than a dozen similar sites with an HTTPS security (like when you log-in for electronic banking). If you use FB over WiFi, you NEED to check this out and protect yourself.



I'm not a techie, but I welcome comments and suggestions so that we can educate and protect those who are less tech savvy.

See this Amp at http://amplify.com/u/e6wf

Here's a quick article explaining the new Facebook Pages Spam Filter. If you are a business owner or marketer, this article is a good and quick read. http://amplify.com/u/e4y7 http://amplify.com/u/e4ya

We Foursquare junkies have a shot of free stuff at Starbucks with "Barista Badge" #foursquare http://ht.ly/1Pyhs

Today is my righting day. I'm writing about many of the things that are right. (Good thing my name is not "Wright." That would be wrong.)

Is reviewing and editing photos this afternoon while sipping on a great cup of coffee.

eagerly welcoming the new week!

TV Game Shows No More, Shazam can ‘Name That Tune’

When I was a young boy growing up during the late 70’s, I remember a TV game show, called “Name That Tune.” The basic premise of this prime-time Saturday night show featured the playing of songs with contestants trying to guess their titles with the fewest notes possible. Although I loved music, I could never guess the names of the songs with the same expertise and prowess as these music geniuses.

Today, few things amaze me anymore. But this “name that tune” iPhone application just blows me away.

It’s called Shazam.

Not to be confused with the other 70’s TV show called “Shazam”—you know, that cheesy superhero wearing the red spandex with a white and gold cape. Dubbed the “World’s Mightiest Mortal,” Captain Marvel would travel in an RV and help distressed citizens in this Saturday morning children’s show. Whenever Captain Marvel needed guidance, he would summon an Oracle named Shazam, through a two-way communication box. Albeit a cheesy program, at least the lightning bolt emblem on Captain Marvel’s chest was pretty rad.

Today in Smartphone Land, the Shazam application does not fight crime, nor wear a cape, but is an all-knowing Oracle that can “name that tune” with exceptional results. With the application running, simply hold up your smart phone in the direction of the music being played and Shazam will tell you the name of the tune and tell you the artist and album name. Shazam makes it possible to even purchase the song or album though iTunes, which is pure marketing genius.

On Saturday, my wife Janelle and I were at a Subway restaurant in New Smyrna Beach. I heard a song playing through the overhead speakers. I asked Janelle if she knew anything about this particular song or artist. Although she had never heard the song before, she thought it was catchy. So amidst the noise of this busy sandwich shop, I started the application, pressed the “tag now” button and positioned the phone’s mic towards the ceiling. With three-to-five seconds, the results were in. My song was correctly listed as “According To You” by Orianthi.

Geolocation

As a true social media tool, Shazam will ask you if it can use your current location, using your phone’s GPS, similar to Foursquare. This way you can chronicle where you were when you heard “that” song. Plus, the geolocation tool will allow you to see when your favorite bands will be in your area.

Two Pricing Models


Shazam has two versions, the limited free version and a full-featured subscription. The free version allows tagging of five songs per month, whereas the full version offers unlimited tagging. The premium version is available for a one-time charge of $4.99 through the App Store.

Hear song and don’t know who sings it? Shazam.

Want to buy that song or album? Shazam.

Want to fight crime while wearing a cape and leotard? Sorry; can’t help you there.

Author’s note: This is not a sponsored article or Tweet. I am a proud user of Shazam and wanted to share my experience. To learn more, visit Shazam.com.

A winning formula: Monday + Sunburn = Awesome Weekend

started off this Earth Day by thanking The Father for His Creation.

Groundhog Day – Is there a day you would love to relive?

Prior to 1993, Groundhog Day was just a day when the infamous groundhog would predict winter’s end. These cute prognosticators of the weather—Punxsutawney Phil, being the most famous—would bring tens of thousands of people to towns like Punxsutawney, PA in celebration. Legend has it that if a groundhog sees his shadow, winter will last for six more weeks.

So what happened in 1993 that gave an additional significance to February 2nd? Groundhog Day, the Bill Murray movie. 

Bill Murray’s character, Phil Conners is trapped in a time loop when February 2nd repeats itself every day, relentlessly without end. Conners, a Pittsburg weatherman, and his team—producer Rita, played by Andie MacDowell and cameraman Larry played by Chris Elliott—are on location in Punxsutawney, PA to cover the Groundhog Day celebration.

Phil Conners is trapped in a Groundhog Day time loop. Every day is February 2nd, with the events around him beginning and ending the same way. Each morning he wakes up to Sonny & Cher’s I’ve Got You Babe on the clock radio. He comes across the same conversations by the same people at the hotel in Punxsutawney. He encounters an old high school acquaintance who tries to sell him life insurance. He can anticipate a crash of dishes at the local diner, because he heard them fall so many times before. Although the movie never reveals the number of days he is trapped, it’s feasible to believe that it’s in the hundreds.

The realization of this type of purgatory sends Conners into every form of emotion, angst, frustration, and manipulation. As the movie progresses, the self-absorbed Conners discovers opportunities to improve himself by caring about those around him. First as a way to prevent boredom, Conners finds joy, value and purpose in the relationships. He even finds himself in a timeless moment with Rita, with whom he has fallen in love.

In your life, is there a day that you would love to live over again? Is there moment in time that you’d wish would never end? Is there a special someone in your life that you cherish that day you first met, or of a family member that you miss? Reminisce on this as you venture through your Groundhog Day.

Looking Like a Fool with Your Pants on the Ground

American Idol certainly knows how to get a buzz about its program. Last night was no exception. 62-year old General Larry Platt steals the night with his original song called: Pants on the Ground. 

Obviously, Platt is too old to audition, by at least 34 years. But the Idol producers know how to create a buzz and get people talking about their program.


Back in the 90's "must see TV" was discussed the next day at the water cooler. Today, it is done instantly via Twitter and Facebook.


Kudos to American Idol. This is a Brainworm™.

What is a Brainworm™?

Hi everyone and welcome to the first installment of Brainworms and The Buzz™. My name is John Weeden, a marketing communications professional in beautiful Orlando, Florida. I love TV, movies, music, advertising and social media with a penchant for all things “Brainworm™.”

So what is a Brainworm™? Funny you should ask.

First, I’ll begin by telling you what it is not. It’s not blatant like a gory horror flick. It’s not a tacky used car lot commercial with some guy—probably the car lot owner himself—yelling at you. (On a side note, why do they buy into the notion of “no yell, no sell” anyways? It’s annoying, but sometimes it works; but I’ll save that topic for another day.) A Brainworm™ is not Ashton Kutcher leading a pack of lemmings in the quest to garner the most Twitter followers.

A Brainworm™

A Brainworm™ is a viral parasite that’s virtual in nature. It begins in a miniscule form and looks for brains to feed upon. In a subtle, quintessential “Brainworm™” manner, it begins to grow. It feeds on its host with the purpose of propagating. A mild Brainworm™ will spread to a few hundred people. A good Brainworm™ will spread to thousands. A great Brainworm™ of epidemic proportions will spread to millions and be all of the rage.

Have you ever heard a tune and could never get it out of your head? Some bonehead in your office whistles the theme to “The Flintstones” and you’re stuck in a feedback loop for hours. That’s a Brainworm™.

This blog, titled Brainworms and The Buzz™, will be the rants and raves of all that I find memorable. At a minimum, it will be like “the good, the bad and the totally-get-out-of-my-face ugly.” Sometimes the blog will have a direct purpose. Other times it will be just me, furiously typing away on meaningless trivia. My hope is that you find this blog to be entertaining, inspiring, and most of all memorable. I would welcome the thought of getting to know each of you, in person, or over the ever-expanding social media universe.

Thinking of you.

John

(Originally posted December 1, 2009)