Yelp

Yelp is a site that one can personalize to fit a specific location, for instance, as linked, Tempe, Arizona. Once one creates a profile, upon returning to it Yelp recommends events, restaurants, shopping, nightlife, and an array of other activities and places nearby. The most useful part of this is that these items are ranked by popularity over time, so there are lists of what is currently or recently popular and what has long-term popularity, based on Yelp users' consistently positive reviews. The tagline, "Real people, real reviews," truly encapsulates what the site is about, and what it delivers. My main issue with the site is that things that aren't reviewed on the site will most likely never be noticed.

Competition

I've recently pitched a project idea that revolves around social networking strictly for teenagers. I envision having features that allow for user feedback, with reviews, ratings and recommendations. Based on the feedback I want to be able to tell people overall what's popular, what's actually "good," and calibrate people's tastes. Essentially, I'd like a charting system similar to Last.fm's, that could also conjure recommendations based on other users who share particular likes or dislikes.

High Concept Pitches

DustBuster: Lugging around a heavy, loud, over-sized vacuum cleaner for the smallest of clean-up jobs will no longer be a problem with a cordless, light, hand-held DustBuster with as much power as a vacuum, but a fraction of the size. Easy to use and transport; perfect for anyone needing a quick, thorough cleanup. Target market: Busy moms, bachelors and college kids.

Wite-Out: Wasted paper, illegible copies, letters and documents filled with typos make communication untimely and difficult. Wite-Out makes easy, fast corrections to documents with its quick-drying white liquid solution. Target market: offices, writers, editors, students.

Disposable lighter: A safe, easy and modern alternative to dangerous and environmentally unfriendly stick matches. Carry it in your pocket or purse for a guaranteed quick and convenient light. Target market: smokers, parents, 18-24 year-olds.

Music networking as a function of learning "what's good"

This semester, for my course Digital Media Entrepreneurship, I need to become an expert in some technological aspect. I've chosen music sites that operate by taking in user preferences to determine what people like, and what can be recommended based on other users' preferences. My original idea was to focus on Last.fm, a UK-based site that is my personal favorite for music discovery, widgets and networking based on taste in music. Options within Last.fm are more plentiful than any other site I've come across. One can download a simple program that allows for "scrobbling," or the taking in of data (songs) that are both played in iTunes and on the iPod. Upon scrobbling, Last.fm collects the songs and artists played and creates numerical charts that can be posted as self-updating widgets on virtually any other site with weekly charts tallying up a user's most popular artists.

A topic I'm interested in pursuing is how sites like Last.fm work with others, namely major label dreamboat Rhapsody. An intriguing part of the online music world is that people want all of their listening connected, their charts accounting for all music listened to, so as not to create a bias. This results in many users developing their own ways of connecting the sites. A simple Google search will render results on how to scrobble music from one's personal Rhapsody feed into Last.fm, and do the same with sites like HypeMachine.

This year I

- Was vandalized by my neighbors
- Had neighbors kicked out of their house
- Trimmed my hair twice maybe
- Learned Final Cut, sort of
- Went to CMJ for the second year in a row and left with 50ish new best friends
- Returned to The Republic to assist in the production of MetroMix
- Stayed at The Republic as a community features writer
- Ended my sojourn as Music Director and assumed the role of The Blaze's Station
Manager
- Realized that thirds are a bad idea
- But tried anyway
- Started working as the college marketing rep for Sony
- Began a memorable and actually fun stint as a broadcast lab assistant
- Crashed my bike and got a major scar on my right knee
- Character building post-crash: riding bike the rest of the way home in 100 degrees
- Sprained my ankle after my foot fell asleep, the most significantly painful
occurrence of 2008, physical, spiritual or otherwise
- Questioned the sanity and humanity of those around me
- Lived up to at least one prediction from a psychic
- Found something pretty good
- Lost some other things
- Bid official adieu to the septum piercing
- Completed 2.5 years of college, ahead of the game, the curve and whatever

Podcast panacea

So I've been icky sicky for about fourish days now, and I'm pretty sure that Ira Glass is just as effective as modern medicine. Plus, I hate taking actual medicine.

My Look-Alikes

Once finals are over...

This is what I'm going to do:

1. Clean my room
2. Re-read The Fountainhead
3. Get back on the "I'm gonna learn Russian" bandwagon
4. Buy my sister a birthday present
5. Spend more time doing yoga
6. Consider cutting my hair
7. Maybe wash my car... but probably not
8. Schedule an optometrist appointment
9. Bake everybody bread
10. Organize my office
11. Enjoy not having classes
12. Celebrate the end of JMC 301: How to kill a journalism student
13. Geek out over my cool classes next semester
14. Prove what a super dork I am by being a little excited about taking statistics
15. Perfect a redition of the Harlem shake
16. Have a Christmas party?
17. Start freelancing for the New Times
18. Wrangle up material for Grrrl Talk next semester
19. Make a list of stuff to shop for post-Christmas
20. Think on what a siren I am at least eighty billion times a day

Here's What I Did Today

I interviewed for internships with the Phoenix New Times and Village Voice Media, and totally kicked bottom. I went to geology, happily due to my nice test results from Monday's exam. Sidenote: I have a "B" in geology and that sometimes makes me want to die. Back on track! I saw some former co-workers from the Republic, had a nice chat with them and realized how much I miss them. I went to The Blaze and did some music directorly work. I picked up my check! Then, as I was walking to the bank, I saw a tow truck pass by on University, and I thought to myself, "Hey cool, that car looks like Hansel." Sidenote: Hansel is the name of my car. Back on track! Then I realized that it was in fact my Hansel, with a big, fat, yellow paper on him declaring his state of towage. You see, I had been using a decal that a friend of mine found on the side of the road, and successfully gotten away with parking for a few weeks.

Well, f-word me for trying to stick it to the man. I had to pay no less than $360 to reclaim my ugly baby Hansel and then walk from the Parking and Transit services building, near Fifth Street and College Avenue, all the way to Curry and Miller roads. Yeah. That's far. Good thing I was intensely infuriated and had generous reserves of energy to expend on that trek. Finally, after filling my quota for sexual harrassment, I arrived at the nasty, dusty lot where those godless beasts took my car. And you know what I had to do? I had to wear a hideous, reflective orange vest. I kind of hate you ASU Parking and Transit. What did I ever do to you?!

Then I sold some cds to FYE and applied to work at Zia. Now I have a mountain of homework to attend to because it's that time in the semester where all of my professors decide that excessive assignments will do my body good. Hey fall semester, feel free to end... like now. Which reminds me! I'll be registering for spring classes next Friday and I've got a pretty sweet lineup planned. I'm going to take statistics for social workers, station operations, news editing, media ethics and one of those internships that I interviewed for today. Yowza.

If you feel compelled to give me exorbitant amounts of money, give in to your impulse.

This is a genuine question.

How could someone not be in love with me?

In all honesty, how?