Posts Tagged ‘fun’

20 August 2010

Summer Reflections

by Lou Tamposi

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All posts by Lou Tamposi

It’s my last day at Communispace, and I was charged with writing a blog post “reminiscing” about my summer. Truthfully, I’m not a very sentimental guy. I mean, sure, I cried at the end of Where the Red Fern Grows, and I’m never shy to express my love for the Red Sox, but other than that … well, it’s just not my thing.

It’s my last day at Communispace, and I was charged with writing a blog post “reminiscing” about my summer. Truthfully, I’m not a very sentimental guy. I mean, sure, I cried at the end of Where the Red Fern Grows, and I’m never shy to express my love for the Red Sox, but other than that … well, it’s just not my thing.

Anyway, I pitched the idea of writing a haiku to sum things up here at Communispace. Everyone seemed on board, so I wrote the haiku equivalent of the Iliad. I’m talking a couple dozen haiku stanzas, full narrative voice. Good stuff, I thought. Certainly would have made my eighth grade English teacher proud.

But here’s the problem—I was told a haiku can only be one stanza. I fought against it (being an English major keeps me mainly in the loop on such pedantry), but I couldn’t get anyone to budge. So, I narrowed it down to this:

Three months, I was here:
     Marketing summer intern.
Where did summer go?

It’s short, it’s sweet, and it’s open-ended. My time at Communispace flew by, and I mean that in the best way possible. Seems like only yesterday I walked in, found my seat, and immediately started working on stuff for our new website (which you should check out, if you haven’t already). But it’s over now, and I have to say, with all honesty, this was one of the best summer experiences of my life.

Now people will wax poetic about how their company is the greatest place in the world to work, but you have to believe that’s a lot of talk. At Communispace, when people preach—boy do they preach—they do it with sincerity.

While I don’t know if I’ll be back here next summer, I do know I won’t soon forget my experience here. It was a great summer and I’m happy to have been part of such a great company.

One Response to “Summer Reflections”

  1. Charlotte says:
    August 20, 2010 at 11:47 am

    Lou I like your poem
    Today is my last day too
    Thank you to all here!

    (does an exclamation point count for a syllable?)

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30 July 2010

Trust Me.

by Rocky Prozeller

1 Comment »
All posts by Rocky Prozeller

Did you know there are currently 10 elephants enrolled in painting schools in Thailand, and among the trunks toting paint brushes, the overwhelmingly preferred color is purple?

Did you know there are currently 10 elephants enrolled in painting schools in Thailand, and among the trunks toting paint brushes, the overwhelmingly preferred color is purple?


Having trouble sorting fact from fiction? You’re not alone.

According to the 2010 USC Annenberg Digital Future Study released earlier this week, nearly 80 percent of Web users rely on the Internet as a rolodex for informed reading, but a significantly smaller segment believes the spouted stats are sincere – and those digits are dropping annually. Ten years ago, 55 percent considered the majority of material concrete; in today’s edition that number dropped to 39 percent, a new low for the Digital Future Project.

Even search engines such as Google and Yahoo – traditional stalwarts of online sincerity – have lost some of their luster, dropping 11 percent on the reliability register. But what’s most stimulating (or simply scary) is the significant slide in trust even among websites we choose to visit regularly, a stat which trickled down for the third time in as many years.

If consumer confidence in online information continues to erode, how long do companies have before the lack of faith moves beyond the one medium and infects a brand’s overall believability? This raises the real question of how to win that confidence back and attain the vaunted status of ‘old faithful’.

Solid relationships require true trust – an attribute earned, not owed. The one direction offered by websites, purely pushing information out, isn’t engaging enough to build the requisite rapport needed to create certitude – that requires a two-way dialogue. Dynamic conversations allow consumers to think, test and ultimately interact with a concept; the ability to challenge inspires confidence.

Providing a platform for pondering back and forth is a means for entertaining the elephant in the room, that way we can sort fact from purple propaganda.

– 

Here’s to wishing readers from sea to shining sea a whale of a weekend as we jump out of July and attack August!

One Response to “Trust Me.”

  1. Janet Bednarz says:
    August 1, 2010 at 12:44 pm

    Well, I don’t care what other people say – I think Mr. One Eye is real.

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23 July 2010

Treme-ndously Guilty

by Karen Barone

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All posts by Karen Barone

Okay, let’s just get this out of the way: I’m not delusional. Here are the facts: In April 2009, I made a strong request (in this very blog) for more television programming like HBO’s The Wire. In April 2010, HBO, David Simon and other members of The Wire’s team, premiered Treme. Coincidence? Unlikely.

Okay, let’s just get this out of the way:  I’m not delusional.  Here are the facts:  In April 2009, I made a strong request (in this very blog) for more television programming like HBO’s The Wire.  In April 2010, HBO, David Simon and other members of The Wire’s team, premiered Treme.  Coincidence?  Unlikely.

This unambiguously causal relationship has left me with a nagging sense of responsibility:  TREME WAS MY REQUEST AND I COULDN’T MAKE IT PAST EPISODE 5.  I’m a disappointment to myself.  Go ahead.  Judge me.

The show started off so strong.  It had all the hallmarks of Simon’s work: (1) location as a main character; (2) the people, dialogue and situations were brutally authentic; (3) the connections among characters were tenuous, but clearly promising; and (4) it was gorgeous to look at.  Truth be told, I was almost in tears at the end of Episode 1.  I had a David Simon show again; my life would return to its natural order (that is to say, I would be obsessed with “good television” once again).  Additionally, and this can’t be overstated, Elvis Costello was in the first episode.  I’d watch Elvis Costello read the phone book.  (And for the amount I’ve paid for his concert tickets over the years, he should offer to do it for me.  Another topic for another blog.)

And so I watched…

Episode 2:  Not much progress in the plot, but there were promising narrative threads.  I just had to wait for Simon to pull them.

Episode 3:  Not much progress.  Just pull the thread, David.  Pull it!

Episode 4:  Pull the stinking thread!  Give me something.  Please.  Just hint at a narrative arc.

Episode 5:  Seriously?  Where is this going?  Jazz is important. I get it.  Sheesh.

Episode 6:  Didn’t watch it.  I just stopped caring.

I turn to you now, readers.  Did anyone stick with Treme?  If so, please make an argument for me to go back and pick it up On Demand.  After all, I MADE this happen.  I should see it through, right?

4 Responses to “Treme-ndously Guilty”

  1. Tom Smith says:
    July 24, 2010 at 8:32 pm

    Karen:

    My wife is as much a fan of HBO and David Simon as you and watched until the very sad end. It’ll be interesting to see if it has another season. It certainly could with NOLA’s current problems. Will the city survive? Given the spirit of the natives, I think so. But stay tuned.

    Tom

  2. Karen Barone says:
    July 26, 2010 at 10:50 am

    Hi Tom,
    Season Two is an open question, for sure. Yet, a sweet prayer for NOLA and her coastal sisters is always in order. Thanks for reminding me what it’s really about…there’s still work to be done. Now more than ever.
    Sincere thanks,
    Karen

  3. Julie says:
    July 26, 2010 at 11:07 am

    Oh Karen, come back! I agree — the pace is a little plodding, but the medium is the message. Recovering and rebuilding consists of relentless baby stepping, not search/voyage–>epiphany–>resolution. Treme demands that we walk in these characters’ shoes, experience the false starts and dead-ends as well as the breakthroughs.

    And actually, as I think about it, quest is the mainstay of any good narrative, and there’s a whole lot of that going on in Treme — the quest for the missing brother, for hope, for renewal. There’s also a lot of failure going on, and I wonder if part of the lukewarm response to Treme (as I know many Simon fans who feel as you do) is simply that as Americans, we’re not used to seeing that in prime time.

    Or maybe my senseless love for the music simply guarantees that I’ll love this show, no matter what.

  4. James Bailey says:
    July 27, 2010 at 10:16 am

    Although I agree with Julie’s comment, I totally understand where you are coming from, Karen. My advice: Jump to the season finale. I actually stumbled into Treme because I was too lazy to move my couch-potato bottom off the couch after the season premier of True Blood.–the finale of Treme followed and I was sold. The next day I started watching from the beginning and have loved every minute of it.

    I hear that they are releasing the soundtrack in conjunction with the premier of the second season, so it looks like the stories will continue…

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22 July 2010

Will Tweet for Dates

by Kristin Bassett

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All posts by Kristin Bassett

What do you do when you’re new to a city and newly single? You give yourself up to crowd sourcing, of course. Or at least that’s what one eligible bachelor who is new to New York City has decided to do. Meet Brian. He is on the hunt to go on 30 dates in 30 days with your help.

What do you do when you’re new to a city and newly single? You give yourself up to crowd sourcing, of course. Or at least that’s what one eligible bachelor who is new to New York City has decided to do. Meet Brian. He is on the hunt to go on 30 dates in 30 days with your help.

Brian seems pretty savvy in social media. He has the “Big Four” media covered: a webpage, a Twitter account, a Facebook fan page and a Youtube account. With all his bases loaded, Brian’s dating life is bound to be busy this upcoming month.

In a culture where we love to scrutinize others’ lives and where “reality” entertainment is king, Brian seems to be bound for viral stardom. I must admit, I’ve already followed him on Twitter, subscribed to his Youtube page and amcurrently debating which one of my NYC friends I can convince to go on a date with him.

Brian’s plan is genius. He combines two of Americans’ favorite types of entertainment: dating shows and shows where the viewers call the shots. Take the popularity of shows such as The Bachelor, American Idol, Dancing with the Stars and So You Think You Can Dance, for example. Hopefully, since the viewers get to choose the girls for Brian, we won’t have another Vienna scandal on our hands.

Plus, how can you not want to watch a shy guy make awkward phone calls asking girls he met online on dates?

So what’s your bet? Will Brian be able to go on 30 dates in 30 days?

One Response to “Will Tweet for Dates”

  1. karthikeyan chandrasekar says:
    July 27, 2010 at 11:37 pm

    No way because there are many other brian’s too available in the city, who also wish to go on 30 dates in 30 days.

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19 July 2010

Alternatives to the Comfort Food of Search

by Guest Blogger: Andrew Davis from Tippingpoint Labs

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The way we search is changing. Whether you’ve noticed or not, more and more people are using content-specific alternatives to Google searching. Why? What does this mean to those of us trying to reach our audience?

Google is the comfort food of search

The way we search is changing. Whether you’ve noticed or not, more and more people are using content-specific alternatives to Google searching. Why? What does this mean to those of us trying to reach our audience?

Google is the comfort food of search

Image via Flickr @trekkyandy

We all use Google. I use it everyday. Josh Cole, an executive producer at Tippingpoint Labs, calls Google the “meat loaf, mashed potatoes and peas of search.” It’s hearty, straightforward and the traditional comfort food in the Internet search world. However, Google’s not the best search engine for finding a meat loaf recipe.

If I’m looking for a recipe, I go directly to Recipezaar or FoodNetwork or maybe even Yummly. I know that at all of these sites a search for “meatloaf” is going to return to me the most relevant search results possible. I’m only going to get meatloaf recipe results.

Now, let’s say I was looking for the title of an album by Meat Loaf, the singer. You know, the guy who sings “I’d Lie for You” and “Paradise by the Dashboard Light”? I wouldn’t use Google. I’d go right to AllMusic.com and search for “Meat Loaf” and I’m guaranteed to get only one result—Meat Loaf, the singer.

This is how I search when I know exactly for which type of trusted result I’m looking. I call these kinds of sites (search engines for recipes, music, movies or events) Branded Content Aggregators.

Branded content aggregators are the future of search

Search results for Meat Loaf on IMDB.com

I define branded content aggregators as “human-edited websites that deliver results from trusted sources delivering a consistent quality and volume of valuable content.” So, Amazon.com could be considered a branded content aggregator for products. Or IMDB.com (the Internet Movie Database) is a branded content aggregator for all things movie- and television-related.

These content engines are amazingly powerful and deliver a vast amount of focused, reliable and smart results designed to deliver exactly the information I’m looking for without having to search through pages of “ten blue links” from Google.

So, branded content aggregators are tremendous sources of information, but they also provide brands and community members with wonderful opportunities to engage and participate in an active community by creating, curating and editing valuable content designed to make their experience better.

The Semantic Web is here—and you helped build it

Tim Berners-Lee, proponent of the Semantic Web

For years, people have been advocating the standardization of all Web data, searching for a way to build a machine language that supports a more intuitive and content-rich experience. Tim Berners-Lee calls this the Semantic Web.

Here’s the deal, Tim. The semantic web is already here. Every one of the branded content aggregators I visit understands the content, the lexicon and architecture of their specific niche better than any machine language ever could.

If I search for “pineapple” on AllRecipes.com, I get a list of the recipes that include pineapple as an ingredient. I don’t get the history of the pineapple. If I wanted that, I’d head to Wikipedia. Millions of individual contributors on millions of branded content aggregators have built semantic understandings of their specific niches to address their specific lexicon. That means the semantic web is already being built.

Harnessing the power of branded content aggregators in two search engines—is this the future of search?



So what if you don’t know where to find a branded content aggregator for your specific need? Where do you go? Who can introduce you to new, trusted sources?

I use two search engines that draw only from trusted sources to provide relevant results and contextualized navigation. I suggest you head over to DuckDuckGo.com and Kosmix.com and try searching for “meatloaf” (the dish) and “Meat Loaf” (the artist) with both search engines.

Each is an innovative search experience and a great use of branded content aggregation!

3 Responses to “Alternatives to the Comfort Food of Search”

  1. Ron Blau says:
    July 19, 2010 at 10:36 am

    What about WolframAlpha (www.wolframalpha.com), which calls itself a Computational Knowledge Engine? Though not a universal search engine, it’s very different and very informative.

  2. Andrew Davis says:
    July 20, 2010 at 5:21 am

    Ron,
    I love Wolfram Alpha. I would call it a branded Content aggregator actually, because it’s the place I go for all things numbers! It’s great!
    Thanks for the reminder!
    - Drew

  3. Andrew Davis says:
    July 20, 2010 at 3:23 pm

    By the way, Ron, I highlight Wolfram Alpha in the session that inspired this post.
    Check out the video here:
    http://vimeo.com/13370259
    Thanks again for commenting.

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15 July 2010

Taking an Online Gamble?

by Nora Tickell

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All posts by Nora Tickell

Chatroulette has become an overnight sensation for those in the know on the Web. Started in November of 2009, the concept is relatively simple: Chatroulette is a website that pairs random strangers from around the world together for webcam-based conversations. Similar to a speed-dating session, you can skip to the next chat at any time if your partner is boring you (or perhaps sharing too much skin—gross!) The site has become a favorite among college students; which was how I first heard of it. While taking a break from studying for exams, my roommate and I decided to take a spin on the site, and we soon found ourselves face-to-face with a wide array of different characters—pantless men, a pair of singing Japanese teenagers and a college-aged guy serenading us with his guitar were some of the highlights.

Chatroulette has become an overnight sensation for those in the know on the Web.  Started in November of 2009, the concept is relatively simple: Chatroulette is a website that pairs random strangers from around the world together for webcam-based conversations.  Similar to a speed-dating session, you can skip to the next chat at any time if your partner is boring you (or perhaps sharing too much skin—gross!)  The site has become a favorite among college students; which was how I first heard of it.  While taking a break from studying for exams, my roommate and I decided to take a spin on the site, and we soon found ourselves face-to-face with a wide array of different characters—pantless men, a pair of singing Japanese teenagers and a college-aged guy serenading us with his guitar were some of the highlights.

According to an article on CNN.com, one of the reasons why Chatroulette has become so successful is the sense of anonymity that comes with connecting to random strangers.  Like its namesake game, Chatroulette offers a chance to feel the rush of exhilaration in anticipating the unexpected.  However, is this the only appeal of the site?  If a similar venture were to be launched on a social-networking site, where one theoretically knew all of their contacts, would the appeal be gone?  I personally don’t see myself putting a service like this to much use. The limited numbers of my friends with whom I chose to Skype or video chat are the ones who aren’t  scared away by my messy-haired, no makeup, poorly lit, double-chinned self on screen. Call me vain, but I don’t see a lot of appeal in exposing that side of myself to the cyber world. 

What do you think?

One Response to “Taking an Online Gamble?”

  1. Kate says:
    July 15, 2010 at 7:02 pm

    Am I that roommate? haha. and you know i love chatroulette!!

    but i agree with you, if i knew the people on the other end i would run away!!!

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29 June 2010

An Exercise in Social Media Connectivity (aka “AAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!”)

by Jack Cahill

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All posts by Jack Cahill

Like most people, I have always wanted to jump from an aircraft at 12,000 feet and free fall towards the Earth at nearly 60 miles per hour while putting my survival in the hands of a complete stranger. However, I was—for some reason—a bit frightened about actually doing it. And every time I turned to people around me for encouragement and participation, I found no one.

Like most people, I have always wanted to jump from an aircraft at 12,000 feet and free fall towards the Earth at nearly 60 miles per hour while putting my survival in the hands of a complete stranger. However, I was—for some reason—a bit frightened about actually doing it.  And every time I turned to people around me for encouragement and participation, I found no one.

But last winter at dinner with friends, one of them actually said she’d do it.  So I wondered—what would happen if I threw the idea out on Facebook and Twitter?  Would I find others who might be interested in joining us?  So I decided to perform a little exercise in social media connectivity and did just that.  I posted a Facebook link and invited people (anyone) to join me.  I also posted it on Twitter and our workplace bulletin boards.

My objective was to recruit a few people to accompany me on this “Bucket List” adventure and be available to push me out of the plane if sanity took over at the last minute.  I thought I might get two others.  What I got instead was a huge surprise.

Within three days I had 15 people who expressed serious interest, and several others who were on the fence, but not quite ready to take that plunge (get it—“plunge”? OK…sorry).  Encouraged, I went ahead and contacted a local jump school that provides tandem jumping.  After cost and scheduling issues were resolved, we had a group of 11 people who had connected to participate.  I was floored.  The Jump had turned into An Event!

The group was a collection of people who maintained different relationships.  Some had never met before the day of The Jump.  But most of us shared one thing in common — we were all incredibly nervous.  Fortunately, one had jumped before, and his encouragement (and the festive atmosphere of the place) kept our nerves in check.

Despite those nerves, we all did it (and loved it—check it out).  Afterwards, when we all gathered at a local eatery to drink and come down from the adrenaline high we were riding, any outsider would have had difficulty telling that most of us had only just met.

It is kind of hard to jump out of a plane with someone and then not feel a strong connection with them — even if you don’t know them.  We’ll definitely do this again…

4 Responses to “An Exercise in Social Media Connectivity (aka “AAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!”)”

  1. Nancy P says:
    June 29, 2010 at 9:39 am

    I got an adrenaline rush just watching the video. It’s a great story and has me thinking about the power social media has for marketing businesses. You created an event without much effort. Businesses can create these events pretty easily once they’ve created a network.

  2. James Bailey says:
    June 29, 2010 at 9:41 am

    Whoa!

  3. Susan Cress says:
    June 29, 2010 at 1:20 pm

    AMAZING! I think the closest I’ll ever get is the parachute I wear for aerobatics and faking it in a wind tunnel. I admire those with the gumption to jump.

  4. carol curran says:
    June 30, 2010 at 10:08 pm

    Wow! I had a pit in my stomach just watching the video but the adrenaline rush must be amazing. Better you than me. CONGRATS!

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25 June 2010

The Me Networks

by Karen Barone

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All posts by Karen Barone

To paraphrase Billy Idol, I’ve been “social networking with myself.” It’s not as dirty as it sounds, I promise.

Forget therapy. So long, self-help books. I’ve got two online sources that will put you back in touch with YOU.

I give you:

To paraphrase Billy Idol, I’ve been “social networking with myself.”  It’s not as dirty as it sounds, I promise. 

Forget therapy.  So long, self-help books.  I’ve got two online sources that will put you back in touch with YOU.

I give you:

FutureMe.org.  Now you can send yourself emails in the future.  Need to psych yourself up for that big presentation next quarter?  Send yourself a pep talk to arrive the day of.  Need to change your diet, but don’t think you’ll stick with it?  Send periodic emails that will arrive every New Year’s Day for the next five years.  Note however, you can also send future emails to other people.  Approach with caution lest you end up like a favorite co-worker whose ex-boyfriend recently received an email she sent him SEVEN YEARS AGO via FutureMe.org. (Gulp.)

And if email isn’t enough…how about creating a better version of you with whom you can speak and interact?

I humbly offer:

LifeNaut.com. Through uploaded pictures and information you can create an avatar that can interact with you, and better yet, your loved ones long after you’ve shuffled off your mortal coil.  Sure, the goal is to create an accurate facsimile, but are you going to upload that elementary school report card displaying your “unsatisfactory” in chorus or that unfortunate school photo with the bi-level perm and one hoop earring from 1985? (I may have revealed too much.) No, you’re going to populate that avatar with documentation of your beauty, talent and smarts. 

Of course, there are multitudes of ways to use these sites.  But for me, I’m “friending” myself, hedging my bets and choosing online self-creation over online self-actualization.  Let’s be honest, future imperfection is so 2009.

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18 June 2010

Can You See the Lite?

by Rocky Prozeller

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Friday features the most welcomed of workweek traditions, Happy Hour; a simple sip of suds revs up the relaxation regime as we brew a better vibe. So which beer-top will you pop?

Out with a new campaign, Miller Lite is making a bid for you to buy their brew. Their advertising recipe offers a bit of beer-battering, with a series of spots featuring a frisky bartender belittling men as boys for their willingness to accept any light beer — pulling punches with overplayed ‘computer bag/carryall-as-purse’ lines, ‘lose-the-skirt’ statements and the like. The givers of ‘Great Taste, Less Filling’ have gone aggressive, challenging would-be chuggers to ‘man-up’ and have a Miller Lite.

Friday features the most welcomed of workweek traditions, Happy Hour; a simple sip of suds revs up the relaxation regime as we brew a better vibe. So which beer-top will you pop?

Out with a new campaign, Miller Lite is making a bid for you to buy their brew. Their advertising recipe offers a bit of beer-battering, with a series of spots featuring a frisky bartender belittling men as boys for their willingness to accept any light beer — pulling punches with overplayed ‘computer bag/carryall-as-purse’ lines, ‘lose-the-skirt’ statements and the like. The givers of ‘Great Taste, Less Filling’ have gone aggressive, challenging would-be chuggers to ‘man-up’ and have a Miller Lite.

At the other end of the cooler, Heineken Light is looking for the same segment of sip seekers, but with a dramatically different design. Their commercials cover a pair of 30-something pals at a Florida retirement community, raking in lessons on life from their elders. An education earned through experience is shared in a series of chat sessions, serving up a glass of appreciation for the classically cool; those handing down the hops help inspire future brewmasters to ‘See The Light.’ Heineken Light is never mentioned outright, just coyly covered by a couple of clips of camera work.

The difference is degradation versus aspiration. Light (and/or Lite) beers serve their purpose, simpler on the stomach and efficient space savers; but few beer buyers (particularly the guys both brewers are going after) define themselves, or more to the point, their manhood, by way of light beer. The context Miller Lite has created, testing testosterone levels by goading guys, falls flat; while Heineken helps itself by giving men the means to elevate their game — the difference is focusing on what we hope to be, rather than what we are not. It’s bottoms up. 

–

As always, a beat to help you break for the weekend in search of your own brouhaha; be sure to raise a mug in honor of the men you define as Dad!

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11 June 2010

EVOlution

by Brad Mampe

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Despite being overcast, it was unusually bright last Friday at 5:45 a.m. I should say that my outlook was also bright. Third in line outside the Sprint store, I peered through the glass, anxiously waiting for Xanadu to open its doors. The HTC EVO 4G was just within reach.

Excited customers passed the time by punching the buttons on our familiar relics. However, the ephemeron of the moment was not lost on me, as whispers of the iPhone 4 were already circulating (and would officially be announced by Steve Jobs at WWDC three days later).

Despite being overcast, it was unusually bright last Friday at 5:45 a.m. I should say that my outlook was also bright. Third in line outside the Sprint store, I peered through the glass, anxiously waiting for Xanadu to open its doors. The HTC EVO 4G was just within reach.

Excited customers passed the time by punching the buttons on our familiar relics. However, the ephemeron of the moment was not lost on me, as whispers of the iPhone 4 were already circulating (and would officially be announced by Steve Jobs at WWDC three days later).

On the surface, it’s the same old story: NEW, SEXY PHONE RELEASED – BE THE FIRST ON YOUR BLOCK TO GET IT! But there’s more going on here because this phone has the potential to change the smartphone market. The HTC EVO 4G is the first 4G phone that’s commercially available, although Sprint is currently rolling this network out to major cities throughout 2010. While Boston will still have to wait a month or two for the phone, a 400 percent increase in download speeds awaits. Until then, you’re paying a $10 premium per month to access a network that isn’t available yet.

The real story, however, is the emergence of Android, which will continue to gain popularity with the arrival of the EVO. It’s already been announced that more smartphones ran Android than the iPhone OS during Q1 2010.

So what’s the big deal with Android? If you’re unashamedly nestled in the throes of geekdom, or even just a “wannabe-geek” like me, a lot more freedom over your device awaits. If Android develops a faster version of their OS, you can install it on the phone yourself, instead of waiting impatiently for the carrier to provide an update.

It’s this kind of flexibility that piques my curiosity in a similar way that Web 2.0 brought a greater degree of personalization and user-centered design. This ability to freely personalize your phone’s operating system might well represent the “Smartphone 2.0” era entering the mainstream. Android’s rise, combined with the super-slick design of the EVO, was just the alluring combination that prompted me to toss my old phone into the technological dust pile.

I’m not a developer. There are giant communities of “Fandroids” much more devout than myself and with a greater wealth of technical knowledge. Including my fellow Verbatim bloggers, these Fandroids could all write much more eloquently about the technical advantages of Android over the iPhone OS and Symbian, the world’s most popular smartphone operating system.

So while this gadget-head will continue to be placated by the fancy, new-fangled whizz-bang apps and widgets on my EVO, there inevitably will be a time where I’ll want to shift from the pure aesthetics of the phone and into a new, functional direction. And while I don’t know where that journey will lead, I have the confidence to transition when the time is right and take the path less traveled. And that, according to the wise Robert Frost, made all the difference.

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